Rebirth
by HatiHroovitinisson98
Summary: Follow Gabriel Morris as he is thrust into a new world filled with new friends, new experiences, and new danger. He will struggle to come to grips with a destiny long since hidden from him, and a history linked by blood and soul. Can a teenager endure such hardships without succumbing to darkness?
1. Departure

" _Why him? He's my only son and he must bear this?" A woman questions clutching a sleeping infant to her chest. A voice answers her, the voice sounds tired and weary, "His destiny was decided long before he was born. His suffering will pave the way to a brighter future for all." The woman sobs softly as she looks on the face of her newborn child. A gloved hand rests on her shoulder, "I truly am sorry to tell you this grim news so soon after his birth, but it is best you know sooner. When the time comes, we will take him and teach him to combat what will come."_

Sunlight pierces through the curtains of a small plain bedroom and young brown haired teen groans as he peels himself away from his bed. "Sweetie, are you up? Come on down, you need to get ready or else you're gonna be late for your first day." The gentle voice of a woman calls up to the teenager and as he yawns, he replies with much fatigue in his voice, "I'm up, I'll be down in a second, Mother." He stretches and heads downstairs into the kitchen where the teen's mother is at the stove cooking breakfast for the two. The teen sits down at the dining table and rubs his eyes. His mother looks at her groggy child and smiles slightly, "You slept well it looks like." The teen rests his head on the table and lets out a massive yawn, "I wish...I had this really weird dream. It felt so real and it was hard to really get any rest." His mother walks over and kisses his head, "Well I can see why you'd be having bad dreams. This is going to be another big change for you. Moving to a new country, learning a new language, and now you'll be living on your own at a new school. I'd be afraid if you didn't haven't weird dreams. Speaking of school, go comb your hair you look like a shaggy dog." The teen groans, "Can't I comb it after breakfast." His mother grabs a handful of his long hair and pulls on it making the teen wince, "Ow ow ow, Mother please." His mother laughs and releases her grip on his hair. "You know you wouldn't have to comb it if you just let me cut it, Gabriel. Since you love it so much I let you keep it long but you need to comb it, now go on before I get the clippers out." Gabriel gets up of out his chair and slowly makes his way back upstairs to the bathroom and his mother yells up to him, "Try your uniform on too while you're up there. I want a picture of my baby boy on his first day of high school. "You better not post it online you write the weirdest things on your posts," Gabriel yells back down as he runs a comb through his shoulder length brown hair. "Just hurry up and get ready. Besides is it wrong for a mother to be affectionate to her little boy." His mother yells back from the kitchen. Gabriel finishes combing his hair and puts on his school uniform, comprised of a white dress shirt with a red tie, light green jacket, khaki dress pants, and black dress shoes. He comes back downstairs into the kitchen where his mother has set up two plates with eggs, sausage links, bacon, and a stack of pancakes drizzled with syrup. "Look at you, so handsome. You're all grown up now." His mother smiles and hugs Gabriel, squeezing him tightly. "It's high school, Mother. I'm hardly going to be a fully fledged member of the adult world and could you please let go you're going to wrinkle the jacket." His mother releases him from her grasp and sits down at the table and the two begin to eat their breakfast. "I know, sweetheart, I know. But, you're going to be living at the school all alone. You'll have to do your own laundry, makes sure you eat well, and I won't be able to get on you about combing that mess you call your hair." Gabriel chuckles slightly and takes a bite of the pancakes, "I'm an only child with a single parent, I think I'll survive. But I have to say, I'm going to miss these pancakes." The two finish their breakfast and Gabriel deposits their soiled dishes in the sink. Gabriel looks at the time and his mother gets up from her chair, "I guess it's that time, Mother." The two walk to the front door where several bags wait. "Are you sure you don't want to walk you to the bus stop?" Gabriel hugs his mother tightly, "I'll be alright." They continue to hug. "Okay, that's good." Gabriel releases his embrace but his mother clings tightly to him. "Oh, I don't want to let you go. This house will be so lonely without you here driving me crazy." She lets go of her son and looks into his bright blue eyes and puts a hand on his cheek. "You be good, okay? Call me if you have time away from all your little girlfriends." Gabriel laughs slightly and smiles, "I will, Mother. I love you" He turns and opens the door, picking up his bags he steps out the door. "I love you too, sweetheart." She quickly snaps a picture with her phone and smile. Gabriel walks away from the house and down the street as his mother watches from the open door until he disappears out of sight.

Gabriel reaches a bus stop as he watches schoolgirls on bikes ride past chattering amongst themselves, shooting passing glances towards him and giggling. He waits for about 10 minutes until a bus pulls up at the stop with a sign on the front reading, "Youkai Academy". The door opens and Gabriel boards with his bags. He is greeted by the driver looking at him dead in the eyes which creeps Gabriel out to a degree. He walks to the back of the bus plopping his bags down on the seat before sitting down. The bus door closes and the bus begins to move. The ride is silent with Gabriel looking out the window as he sees other students commuting as well. The silence is broken the bus driver speaks up, "Say, kid, you ain't from around here are you?" Gabriel responds inquisitively, "What makes you say that?" The bus driver readjusts the rear-view mirror. "Well, you definitely don't look like you're from here. Where you from, kid?" Gabriel relaxes in his seat, "I'm from America." The bus driver chuckles quietly in amusement, "Well you're a long way from home. Though I gotta say, your Japanese is impressive. If I didn't know better I'd say you were from here." Gabriel scratches his head, "Well when my Mother told me I was going to high school in Japan, I kinda had no choice but to learn the language. Lucky for me, I'm a fast learner." The ride continues on for a while in silence until again the bus driver breaks the silence. "It's a bit weird that an American would come all this way for high school. How'd you find out about the Academy?" Gabriel readjusts in his seat. "My Mother was the one who told me about it. Said they were giving me a huge scholarship and she thought it would be best if we had a change of scenery. We packed up and moved here and the rest is history." The bus stops a red light and the driver pulls out a cigar, "You mind?" Gabriel waves his hand dismissively. "Go ahead, just open a window so I don't have breathe it in." The driver lights the cigar and lets out a puff of smoke of the window, "Thanks, kid. Really helps make these trips a lot smoother." Gabriel nods, "I feel you there, never been a fan of long rides. I always fall asleep." The driver lets out another puff of smoke, "Well get some shut eye, it's a bit of a drive." He chuckles, "It's quite the trip." Gabriel shrugs and closes his eyes.

" _Are you sure he is the one?" A female voice asks while looking into a small mirror. "Indeed, it seems she took far away to keep him from us." A male voice responds returning the mirror to a coat pocket. "I cannot blame her, a mother would do anything to protect her child. He looks so much like him" The male voice responds in a concerned tone, "He does, that's what concerns me. We must find him to keep an eye on him." The woman extends her hand, "I will go, you don't have the most remarkable people skills. Besides, if he really is the one he might be more comfortable around his family." The man produces the mirror again and hands it to the woman. "Do not let him know of your's or his true nature until I have arrived. Keep him safe, or we all may suffer dire consequences."_

Gabriel jolts awake and takes a look around. "Good timing, kid I was about to come wake you up. We've arrived." Gabriel looks around slightly dazed and he rubs his temples before picking his bags up and stepping off of the bus. "Hey, kid. One more thing. This school ain't your typical school. This place can get a little scary, I'd watch your back if I were you." Gabriel turns and looks at driver very confused, who chuckles sinisterly. "What do you-" Gabriel tries to ask as he is cut off by the driver closing the door and pulling away back through a long, dark tunnel. "Creeps me the hell out." He turns to be met by a large dead forest, a steep cliff, and a blood red sea. "Though if I had a choice," He looks back towards the tunnel, "I'd chill with the possible murderer and his murder bus." He takes a deep breath and begins to walk towards the forest. "Well, here we go then."


	2. Welcome to Yokai

Gabriel stood at the entrance of the dead forest, bags in hand, hesitant to proceed further. Taking a deep breath he starts to walk into the dark forest, clutching his bags tightly. As he walks he takes note of his surroundings. "Jeez it's like walking through a Halloween attraction, creepy dead forest, bats because why not, and headstones of course. Thanks, Mother, couldn't have picked a normal school back home." He remarks, trying to play off his obvious fear. A feeling that would only be amplified as he heard a strange sound somewhere off in the distance and the only thing Gabriel could say to himself as his pace quickened was, "Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope! Absolutely not, not getting murdered by demons today." The sound grew louder and louder until Gabriel could no longer take it and he spun around to confront whatever was the source of the sound only to be met by a cheerful voice calling out from overhead, "It's just me. A bat! Whee!" Gabriel chuckles at his paranoia and turns around to continue on his way until his newfound joy is crushed by a sudden realization that a bat just talked, along with a bike crashing full-force into his back sending him and his mystery assailant tumbling to the ground.

" _Mother of god what was that? An SUV, if I'm not dead or paralyzed I'll definitely start praying again."_ Gabriel thought as he was reeling from the impact. Fortunately, he was able to push himself up from the ground, planting his hand on something soft and warm. He was initially confused at what he was touching until he heard the cry of obvious feminine origin and immediately looked up to see his hand planted firmly on the thigh of a pink-haired girl who locked eyes with Gabriel. He was stunned by her beauty to where he forgot where his hand until the girl sheepishly broke the stare by looking down to her leg where this stranger had planted his hand so firmly. Gabriel immediately recoiled retreating away from her, his face flush with embarrassment. "I am so sorry that was an accident, I'm not perverted I swear!" Gabriel exclaims in panic, but his panic is broken as he notices a small amount of blood trickling from his forehead. The girl produces a white handkerchief and immediately hurries to Gabriel, "Oh no you're bleeding." He looks at this strange girl and finds a certain comfort in her concern for a stranger's well-being. "I must've cut it when we fell, I'm sure it's nothing. Are you alright? What happened?" The girl wipes the blood clean and hides her eyes from Gabriel, "I'm so sorry, I got dizzy and lost control of my bike." Her apology trailed off as she took a faint smell of the handkerchief. "This scent...I shouldn't" The girl mumbled as Gabriel looked at her visible confused at her behavior. Curious as to what she was talking about he sniffed the air and got a noseful of the lovely scent of her hair, he couldn't identify the scent but he found it very appealing. "I'm sorry I can't help myself, and what I am is a vampire!" The girl says and she quickly grabs Gabriel's face and bites down on his neck.

Instinctually, he panics but the lack of pain calms his nerves and before long the girl pulls herself away, "His blood makes me feel so strange, but it's so intoxicating." The girl thinks as she seals the puncture wounds, making the bite look like a love bite. "Did...Did you just bite me?!" Gabriel asks clearly baffled by what just happened. The girl looks down sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I smelled your blood and I couldn't help myself. Please don't be mad." Gabriel sighs, "Well it doesn't look like you tore open my neck and tried to kill me, but you still have some explaining to do." The girl looks up clearly overjoyed the Gabriel forgave her, "Really? You're not mad?" Gabriel rubbed his neck where she bit him and looks back at her, "Mad? No. Confused as hell? Well, put me down for a yes on that one." The responds matter-of-factly, "I did say I was a vampire, didn't I?" Hearing her say that, Gabriel immediately looked her dead in the eyes, "Vampire? You meant that?" The girl looks back with slightly downcast eyes, "Do you have a problem with vampires?" Gabriel notices the obvious hurt in her eyes so he calms down and puts a hand on her shoulder gently, "No no I don't have a problem with vampires. So long as they're more careful with their bikes and watch where they aim those fangs of theirs next time." The girl looks up absolutely elated and tackles Gabriel, holding him in a tight embrace. " _Jesus, lady I forgive then you're gonna crush me with a bear hug."_ She releases him and props herself above him with her arms and looks down at Gabriel, her face beaming with delight. "In that case why don't be friends, I don't have any here yet." Gabriel hadn't noticed it until now but the girl was wearing a school uniform that was similar in color, he also noticed her skirt or lack thereof and thought, "If this is their school uniform I wonder what the gym uniforms look like." The two sit up and the girl notices a pamphlet on the ground next to the crash site which she picks up. "You're a first year too? Maybe we'll be put in the same class, that'd be nice wouldn't it?" Gabriel smiles dusting himself off, "I could always use someone to endure the hardships of freshman life with." The girl is absolutely giddy with the thought of having a new friend. "Oh, I'm Moka Akashiya by the way. What's your name?" Gabriel stands up and helps Moka up to her feet. "Gabriel Morris, pleasure to meet you." Moka looks puzzled for a second, "Morris? You're not from Japan, are you? Where are you from?" Gabriel straightens his back, "I'm from the States, I've traveled a long way to be run over by a bike and make friends with a vampire." This elicits a small giggle from Moka, "You certainly did. Well, I should get going the entrance ceremony should be starting soon. You should hurry too if you don't want to be late. Bye Gabriel, I hope I see you again soon" She picks up her bike and rides off. Gabriel watches her and sees her skirt lift up in the wind, "See that's what I was afraid of. Whatever, just grab your shit Gabriel and get moving." He says to himself as he collects his bag and begins walking towards the school.

Two people stand over a table with an aged picture of a gothic looking building, "Are you serious? My sister sent him there? What was she thinking?" A woman says frantically. "That is something you may have to ask her yourself, seek your sister out and she will lead you to the boy. Do whatever it takes to ensure he remains oblivious to his true nature. We need to secure the vessel before his power awakens" A man says handing the picture to the woman. "We haven't much time, get to Japan as soon as possible." The woman brushes her blonde hair out of her face and takes the picture from the man, "I'll be on the first plane out."

Gabriel sits in classroom clearly bored and mumbles to himself, "Geez that ceremony was a drag." A teen next to him with piercings sighs, "I hear you, man, they just love to keep talking." Gabriel looks at him, "It's not so much that, it just that I was not a fan of the choice of seats. Sitting that long in a folding chair is not very comfortable." The teen simply nods and a woman wearing eyeglasses, a short skirt, and a very cheerful smile walks in holding a clipboard. "Hello, class. I am your homeroom instructor, Shizuka Nekonome. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Gabriel is glad to see such a friendly face after all of the events of the day. She writes her names on the board and sets down her clipboard on the podium situated in the front of the class. "To start us off then, as you know Yokai Academy is a very special academy as it is an academy exclusively for monsters. Given that, it is about time we go over some ground rules." Nekonome says writing three rules on the board. After hearing that so casually Gabriel immediately begins to panic in his head, " _Woah, hold up did she say monsters? Oh, this is bad, this is really bad. Just play it cool, Gabriel."_ Gabriel swallows hard as he tries to hide his panic. "Yokai Academy is a school meant for teaching monsters how to coexist with humans out in their world. So that brings us to rule number one." She taps on the board with a wooden pointer, "No revealing your true form to another student." Gabriel looks around at the other students and wonders just what terrifying form they could be hiding. "Rule two. No turning into your true form on campus grounds except for special circumstances." Gabriel begins to clutch the front of his desk. "Rule three. No going to the human world unless it is a supervised field trip. Rule four is meant for those special occasions. While in the human world, no revealing your true form. No exceptions, got it?" The teen next Gabriel leans back in his chair, "What's the point of these rules, teach. If we run into a human why not just eat em. That's what I'd do." The teen extends his tongue like a snake very menacingly. Nekonome picks up her clipboard and looks at her seating chart, "And you are? Ah, Saizo Komiya. Well as you know the academy is surrounded by a magic barrier that separates us from the human world. If a human were to somehow get past, they would be killed immediately so there's no chance of running into a human here." Saizo glares at Nekonome, "Say what you want but I swear I've been smelling a human this whole time." Gabriel freezes up as he feels danger mounting when suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by the class door opening abruptly and a familiar voice entering his ears. "Sorry I'm late, I got lost." The men in the class all gawk at the figure that just entered the room. Nekonome again looks at her seating chart, "You must be Moka Akashiya, I'm Miss Nekonome. It's a pleasure to meet you, we've only just started. Why don't you go take a seat behind Mr. Morris." Moka's eyes light up as she sees Gabriel and she darts over locking him in another bear hug. "Oh my god we're in the same class, I'm so happy!" She says excitedly. Gabriel strains to breathe and pats her back, " I'm...so...excited." Gabriel sees all the men shooting glares of jealousy at him, like daggers. He meets eyes with Saizo whose gaze seemed the most malicious of all.

The rest of the class proceeds as a normal, Gabriel set at ease with Moka's presence. The bell rings and they head out of the class, Moka clinging to Gabriel's arm, drags him down the hall and outside to vending machine. The two retrieve their beverages, Moka a tomato juice, and Gabriel a coffee. They sit next to each on a bench and Gabriel looks over at Moka enjoying her juice and can't help but smile. "I tell you, I was a bit nervous at first but having a vampire bodyguard really helps put me at ease." Moka giggled, "You're so silly, you." She playfully shoves Gabriel which sends him flying from the bench and into the wall with a great force that knocks the wind out of him. She immediately rushes over to help him up, "I'm so sorry, are you okay? I didn't mean to." Gabriel stretches his neck. "It's fine, whew you laid me out. Remind me never to get on your bad side." The two share a small laugh that is interrupted by a voice that immediately sends chills down Gabriel's spine, "Hey Baby. Why don't ditch this runt and hang out with a real man." The two look over to see Saizo leaning against the vending machine. The teen exuding an aura of arrogance and his stare obviously perverse. This angers Gabriel to where he overcomes his intimidation and steps up to Saizo. "Why don't you leave her alone? She ain't interested in you, creep." Saizo immediately grabs Gabriel by the tie and lifts him up choking him while slamming him into the vending machine causing cans to spill out everywhere. "Say that again runt and I'll pop your head off." Saizo says as he chokes Gabriel who responds in a choked voice, "Piss...off...you...creepy...bastard." Saizo growls slightly in aggravation which Gabriel returns with a slight grin. Moka rushes over and pulls Gabriel, "Let him go, Saizo. I don't want to hang out with you, I can't stand bullies." Saizo drops Gabriel, who falls to the ground, and glares at both of them. "Pshh, whatever. Keep the runt, hotness. You'll come around." Saizo says and Moka and Gabriel walk back into the building. "You'll see." He says as he crushes a can of tomato juice with his long tongue.

Gabriel rubs his neck as he leans on a railing on top of the roof. "That was scary, huh?" Moka says while standing next to him. He looks over and nods, "Definitely not what I wanted to happen on the first day." She looks away from him with a slight blush on her cheeks, "Thank you for standing up for me like that. You really didn't have to do that." Gabriel looks at her with a warm smile. "Course I did, you and me gotta stick together. I won't let creeps like that ogle you like a piece of meat." Moka turns to Gabriel smiling in pure joy, "I'm so glad I met you. I used to be so lonely before. I wish I had a friend like you while I was growing up most kids made fun of me for my looks." Gabriel looks her straight in the eye, "Well those kids are stupid. But, I've been meaning to ask. You don't really look like a vampire, what's up with that?" Moka puts her hands on her chest and spreads her cleavage apart, "Well not now but look." Gabriel looks for a split second but looks away, "Uh, at what?" She smiles slightly, "At the rosary on my neck, silly. What did you think I was talking about?" Gabriel looks at the large silver rosary with a red stone in the middle. "If I were to take this off I would transform into my true form. A powerful and scary vampire. I can't take it off myself." Gabriel looks at her and brief flashes of crimson red eyes startle him a bit. "Gabriel?" He shakes his head and smiles, "It's nothing. Just trying to imagine how someone like you could ever be scary." Moka blushes and lightly nudges his arm, "Aw, stop it you." He turns and leans on the railing again, looking out towards the setting sun. "So, what do you think about humans? Little off topic but since the point of this place is to teach monster-human coexistence I'd like to hear your two cents on humans." Gabriel braced himself for her answer but still hoped for the best and Moka looks down with a somber face. "Well, I can't say I like humans very much. I think I hate them for how they treated me all throughout my life." Gabriel took her words like a dagger to the heart and she looks at him concerned. "Gabriel, is something wrong?" He doesn't look in her direction and his tone shifts to a much more downtrodden one, "Hypothetically, if I were a human. Would you hate me or would you still be my friend." Moka tries to put on a smile and cheerful tone but Gabriel's face remains somber, "Gabriel you're being silly. There's no way you're human because no human could have gotten in here." Gabriel's grip on the railing tightens and Moka looks even more concerned as this sudden shift frightened her, "Gabriel?" He turns to her with all joy gone from his stare. "Moka, I am a human." Moka immediately retreats from him and her face switches to that of fear. "Impossible, no human could have gotten in here. You're lying, you have to be. You can't be a human." He steps towards her, his voice dripping with venom. "Well sorry to break it to you but there's a bona fide human being standing right in front of you. Seeing as you hate us so much maybe I should have just left you with Saizo." Immediate regret flashes over his face as he looks over the shock and hurt in Moka's eyes. He doesn't look at her and turns away, "I have to go. It was a mistake coming here. Don't follow me." He immediately takes off down the stairs walking through halls, everyone looking at him perplexed about his somber face and quick pace. All Gabriel can think of is that he is surrounded by hundreds of monsters and the only one he befriended he had just hurt incredibly bad. " _I wouldn't be surprised if she despises me after what I just said._ " He heads outside and back through the forest. "Where the hell is the bus stop?"

Moka runs outside looking for Gabriel. She heads off towards the forest, frantically looking for any sign of her friend when suddenly Saizo emerges from behind a tree grabbing Moka's shoulder tightly as she runs past. "Hey, what's the rush, hot stuff?" Moka looks at him in disgust and shrugs his hand off. "I don't have time to talk to you, I'm busy now." Saizo laughs menacingly, "Well baby, you better make time. Cause school is out and I want to play. Shame there ain't no one out here to get in my way, hot stuff." He begins to expand in size and his shirt rips. He towers over Moka and overshadows her as she lets out a loud scream.

Gabriel stops in his tracks once he hears the scream and a laugh soon after. "That laugh, shit. Don't worry Moka I'm coming." He drops his bag and sprints back towards the scream. Upon arriving he sees Moka slumped against a tree, covered in saliva and a long tongue wrapped around her leg. "Moka!" Gabriel exclaims as he clenches his fist tightly and looks up at the towering figure. The figure turns towards him, his tongue uncoiling itself from Moka. "Well well well, if it ain't the runt. Come to save your girlfriend? Good luck with that shrimp, I'm an orc and I'm about to tear you apart and have some fun with that hot piece of ass." Gabriel removes his jacket and drops it, he removes his tie and rolls up his sleeves. "I don't care who the fuck you are. To me, you're just a piece of shit that needs to get cleaned up." Gabriel's blood now boiling from the rage. "Piece of shit? You got balls, runt. You're the one about to be a stain on the ground." Saizo cracks his knuckles. "Big talk but I ain't seeing you do shit. Come on, pussy." Gabriel says confidently which drives Saizo into a rage.

Saizo slams his large clawed hand down into the ground which Gabriel dodges by jumping out of the way. Moka wakes up to see Gabriel confronting the massive orc, "Gabriel!" She yells out scared for his life. Swipe after swipe Gabriel manages to barely dodge, "Where the hell is this coming from. Why am I fighting this huge monster?" Seeing an opening where Saizo has his head close to the ground, he drives his knee into his nose causing the orc to backpedal. "You bastard, that actually hurt." Saizo's nose begins to bleed and Gabriel gestures over to Moka. "Moka now! Get behind me! Hurry!" Moka rushes past Saizo and stands behind Gabriel, "Gabriel we should run while he's dazed." Gabriel turns to her and smirks, "Hey, we'll be fine. Trust me. I'll keep you safe." Moka looks past him and yells out, "Look out!" Gabriel turns only to get slammed in the side by a blind hit from Saizo which sends him flying and he starts rolling down a hill. "Serves you right, runt." Moka hurries down the hill to Gabriel who is trying to pick himself up. "Son of a bitch sucker punched me." His face is covered in blood and he falls over. "Gabriel, this is all my fault. I'm so sorry. I don't care if you're human." Moka says, tears streaking down her cheeks holding Gabriel in her arms. "You're still the only friend I've ever had and I don't want to let you go." Saizo comes barreling down the hill, "All this friend shit is making me sick." Gabriel stands to his feet, shakily. "Moka, stay back. I'll distract him and I want you to get out of here." He spits out a bit of blood and Moka stands next to him shaking her head. "No! I won't leave you!" Gabriel takes a step forward and begins to fall over, Moka reaches for him but instead if her hand Gabriel finds his hand on her rosary and as he falls he pulls from the necklace. Moka looks on in shock, "My rosary, it came off!" A bright light comes from Moka and it blinds both Gabriel and Saizo. Her breasts and hips begin to grow, her hair now silver in color, and her eyes crimson red. Gabriel collapses to the ground, his vision and consciousness fading. "M..oka." She looks at the battered teen on the ground and scowls as she looks at Saizo who is now backing up and is clearly intimidated. "That hair and those eyes! No way, you can't seriously be a vampire! Hey, calm down, man. If you can take her down just imagine the mad respect I would get." Moka speaks in a deeper more aggressive voice, "Beat me. You're as delusional as you are perverted." Saizo charges her as she winds up a kick, "I think someone needs to learn their place!" She yells as she plants a kick square to his chest sending him careening into the hill, knocking him unconscious. She turns her gaze to Gabriel who is trying to stand up again, " _This boy is a tough one, I'll give him that."_ She walks towards the struggling Gabriel, "Hey Moka...hey good job, I softened him up for you. Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Say, did you do something with your everything?" Gabriel says as he falls forward, unconscious. Moka catches him and holds his head in her bosom, smiling slightly.

Gabriel wakes up slowing, his head resting on Moka's lap. She looks down at him with tears in her eyes, "Hey, you. That was a boneheaded thing to do." Gabriel reaches up and wipes the tears from her eyes, "Hey now, none of that. We won, didn't we? How long was I out?" Moka hugs his head to her chest. "You were out for about 30 minutes, I was afraid you wouldn't wake up." Gabriel sits up on his own rubbing his head. "You sat there and looked after me until I woke up? Moka you didn't need to do that, you should have just have gone to get help." She looks down and the ground. "I know, I just wanted to be sure you'd be okay. I didn't want to leave you alone." Gabriel brings her into an embrace which catches Moka by surprise. She smiles and holds him tightly, "Thank you for saving my ass Moka." She shakes her head, "I should thank you for coming back to save me, you fought to save despite being just human." He pulls away and looks her in the eyes. "You would have done the same for me." She smiles and the two get up and see Saizo passed out on the side of the hill. Gabriel clutches his sides and walks over, kicking him in the ribs wincing in pain. "Asshole, ow." Moka hurries over and helps support Gabriel and the two of them walk back towards the school. They walk past the bus stop and Gabriel points to it, "Found the bus stop." He twirls his finger around in the air, "Yaaaaaay." He says sarcastically before recoiling in pain. "Careful, Gabriel. Let's hurry to the infirmary." Gabriel looks at Moka, "Mind if I take a sick day tomorrow? I'm gonna feel this welcome for the next few mornings to come." The two chuckle and walk into the forest. "Ow." "Gabriel I said be careful!"

The blonde woman sits aboard an airplane rubbing her temples as a baby wails a few aisles away. "Don't you just love kids? Can't wait to hear all about your's, Sister."


	3. R&R

Gabriel is laying down in the school infirmary, bandages covering his bare torso and head when he hears a knock on the door. "Who's there?" He asks looking towards the door. "It's me, Moka. Can I come in?" Gabriel reaches towards a small table to the right of his bed, picking up a t-shirt. "Yeah, just give me a second." The door opens and Moka steps in carrying a small box. Moka and Gabriel's eyes meet and Gabriel begins to blush, "Moka could you turn around so I can put on some clothes?" Moka turns quickly, hiding a blush, and Gabriel quickly throws on a white t-shirt. "Oh, I'm sorry I thought you said come in." Gabriel slowly sits up in the bed. "You can turn around now." Moka turns around walks to Gabriel's bedside sitting on the edge of the bed, setting the small box next to her. "So what'd I miss?" Gabriel asks while putting a hand on his side. "Not much, though some of the students are saying that you beat up Saizo. He wasn't in class today." Gabriel smiles slightly at the thought of him beating down Saizo. "I wish I was the one that put that guy in his place. Speaking of which, we need to talk about what happened before I passed out." He says shifting in the bed a bit. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Moka asks while scooting closer to Gabriel. "First of all, do you remember what happened? I pulled off the rosary and there was this bright light, then you changed. You had silver hair and red eyes, you sounded different too." Moka takes a second to think before shaking her head, "I don't remember, it was like I was asleep and the entire thing was a dream. The me you saw was my true form. She is who I was before I was given the rosary to seal away my powers." Gabriel looks at her visibly confused. "So there are two of you? You, the other you, seemed to recognize me even though she wouldn't have met me. Is it possible that because she is so strong that she is conscious of events taking place with you?" Moka looks at her rosary, "I suppose it is possible." Gabriel looks past her at the box. "Whatcha got there?" Moka perks up and grabs the box. "I thought since you got hurt protecting me I should do something for you. I made some lunch for you, I hope it helps you feel better." She opens the box, revealing a bat shaped sandwich and some cucumber slices. "It's not much, just a PB&J with some vegetables. It was kind of short notice." Gabriel smiles and takes the box from. "Hey don't knock the classics. Sometimes less is more, besides it's the thought that counts. When I was a kid my mother used to always write little notes on my lunch bags, it drove me crazy. Everyone thought I was a momma's boy." Gabriel says reminiscing about his childhood. Moka giggles, "I hope I can meet your mom one day, she sounds wonderful." Gabriel takes a bite of the sandwich and vocalizes his delight. "Mmm, so good. I'll have to introduce you to her one day. She loves teasing me about girls. Should be fun." Moka smiles in delight. "What about your dad? How's he?" Gabriel finishes the sandwich, "Couldn't tell ya. My mom said he skipped out on us after I was born. Said he was mad about us moving to the states so he just left." Moka gasps and covers her mouth. "That's terrible. Does that upset you?" Gabriel shrugs and picks up a cucumber slice. "I'm sure baby me was heartbroken but that's life. Can't really be upset about someone I never met. If he wants to skip out on me and my mother there's no point in being upset about it." Gabriel lets out a slight groan as the pain of his injured body flares up. "Gabriel, I don't know how you can be so strong even when you're in such a scary situation." Gabriel sets the box down to his side and pats Moka's hand. "Well here's how I see it. Life is scary, period. So we have two choices, be afraid and hide away or stand up and face it head on. It doesn't matter if we are scared, that's natural, what matters is how we choose to act when we are afraid. What I find helps is finding someone or something that you can be comfortable with and then suddenly things are a lot less scary." The two lock eyes and they stare intently at each other, "Here I am sitting in an infirmary, after being nearly crushed by some giant monster, in a high school filled with monsters, eating lunch with a vampire. I should be terrified, admittedly I was at first, but I think I can deal with it. I need to thank you for making that possible." Gabriel smiles warmly and Moka leans in closer, "I need to thank you too." Gabriel's eyes dart around, "For what?" She continues to get closer and Gabriel begins to freak out, " _Is she about to kiss me?"_ Gabriel looks deep into Moka's emerald eyes, "For being my first real friend and my first in another way." Gabriel chokes up, " _Did she do something to me while I was sleeping?!"_ He swallows hard, "Y-yeah in what way?" She grabs his cheeks and moves her face closer. "You're the first person whose blood I drank." She moves down his cheek and bites down on his neck. Moka begins to feel invigorated by Gabriel's blood, "What is it about his blood? I think I'm gonna get hooked." She thinks as she seals the puncture wound. "Moka, please ask next time…" She looks up and to see Gabriel's face, which is now bright red. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I resisted when you were bleeding yesterday, I just had to have some." Moka quickly retreats to the end of the bed, pouting slightly. Gabriel smiles and thinks about how cute she looks when she pouts. He nudges her backside with his foot, "You should get going, I'm sure class isn't canceled for my sake. I don't want you to be late." Moka gets up and walks up towards Gabriel hugging him, "Watch the ribs. Still sore as hell." She hugs him lightly and he returns the hug patting her back. "Get going you're gonna be late." She lets go and walks to the door, "I'll stop by after school and see how you're doing." He lets out a yawn, "Sounds good, see you then." Moka leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Gabriel picks up the box and eats the rest of the cucumber slices. "That girl is gonna be the death of me. Well one of them is at least." Gabriel says to himself as he lays down shutting his eyes."

Gabriel's mother sits on the couch in her living room watching TV as there is a knock on the front door. "I'll be right there." She says muting the TV before going to the door, undoing the lock she opens up the door and is completely shocked by who is standing in front of her. "Hello, sister. Been awhile hasn't it?" The woman in front of her steps past Gabriel's mother and into the house. "I don't want you here, get out." The woman turns to her, "Is that any way to talk to your big sister. Here I am after all these years and the first thing you say to me is to get out? Alexandra, I'm disappointed, I thought we were raised better." Alexandra shuts the door and steps closer to her sister. "Yoko, you know damn well why I want you gone." Yoko smiles coyly. "Can't an auntie visit her darling nephew? Where is little Gabriel anyways? Why he must be quite the man now." Alexandra looks at her accusingly, "You know where he is, that's why you're here, aren't you? To drag him away and make him a weapon." Yoko's cool demeanor changes and her smile disappears. "You think I want this fate for him? He's my family too! He's my nephew, contrary to what you may believe I love my family. But this is bigger than any of us." Alexandra pushes Yoko, tears in her eyes. "I won't let you take him away from me! I don't care what any prophecy says, he's my little boy and I won't you take him away from me!" Alexandra screams as Yoko pushes her back producing a picture of the academy. "So you send him here? Alone? You put his life in mortal danger, for what? If you had let Alucard take him he would have been able to deal with what is to come." Alexandra falls to her knees sobbing, "He's strong, so very strong. I know he will survive. He'll come back to me and we can face this together." Yoko throws her hands up into the air and groans loudly, "Together? You can't possibly imagine the threat that's looming. We may be naturally gifted but you have not once kept up your practice, have you?" Yoko takes a deep breath and kneels down in front of her sister. "I miss him so much, I don't know what to do. Jonathan was so strong, I can see it in Gabriel. I can't protect Gabriel, I am too weak now. So I sent him away so that he can find those he can call his ally and friend, I want him to grow as a person, not just as a warrior." Yoko hugs her sister, stroking her hair. "I miss Jonathan too. He was like a brother to me, we all loved him. It's true I know where Gabriel is, I came here to tell you that I'm not going to take him away. I'm going there to help guide and protect him. The years have not changed the fact that we are still blood. I love him as I love you, dear sister. Let me take care of him, I will ensure that he is ready to face his destiny." Alexandra looks into her sister's eyes and sees the sincerity in them, "Keep my baby safe, please Yoko. Keep him safe." The two stand up and hold each other in an embrace they have not felt in over a decade. "You have my word. I will give my life for the life of my nephew." Yoko says, squeezing her sister tightly. The two release each other and walk to the door, "Alexandra, now is the time to start your studies again. When the time comes, Gabriel will need all the help he can get." Yoko says as she departs. Wiping tears from her eyes Alexandra waves to her sister as she walks off. Alexandra closes the door and walks up the stairs to the attic. Upon entering the dimly lit space she walks to the end and moves cardboard boxes off a locked trunk. She grabs the lock and whispers in an unknown tongue which causes the lock to click open. Opening the lid she looks inside at dozens of dusty tomes. She sighs and picks up the first one on the pile. "By God, be safe my son." She sits down in front of the trunk and opens the tome.

Yoko walks down the street towards an unassuming bus stop, placing her hand on the pole she closes her eyes and focuses, mystical energy courses from her hand and snakes along the pole. Images flash and a map forms in her mind, opening her eyes she reaches into her pocket and produces a small journal. Opening to a blank page, she shifts her hand from the pole to the page. The energy travels from the pole and transfers to the page. "Show me what I seek." The map in her mind is transcribed onto the page and she tears the page out. She folds the paper into the shape of a bird and closes it in her hands. "Show me the way and I will follow," Yoko whispers into her hands. She opens her hands and the paper bird hops on her hand, chirping a song. She raises her hands to the sky and the bird flies into the sky. "It seems it would be best to follow on your tail-feathers, my little friend." She begins to chant quietly and her clothes and hair begin to blow with an invisible wind. A burst of white feathers surrounds her and she emerges from the hail of feathers in the form of an owl. She flaps her wing and takes to the skies, following closely behind the paper bird.

Gabriel stirs in his sleep as in his dreams he finds himself in a long hallway, a cold wind blowing through it. "Where am I? This place seems so familiar." He walks down the hallway, each step echoing down the empty corridor. The gothic interior fills Gabriel with a sense of dread and a sense of belonging. He runs his hand along the wall, feeling each stone that made up the wall. " **So you have arrived. What a grim reflection you are."** A deep voice rings out in his head. Gabriel gasps in shock and looks around frantically. " **Do not bother looking for me. I am not yet meant to be discovered."** Gabriel shakes his head and takes a deep breath and says to himself, "It's okay, you're just dreaming." The voice chuckles, " **Perhaps you are dreaming. But consider that dreams are more real than you may realize. If you do not believe me, strike the wall and see for yourself"** Gabriel looks at his hand and clenches his fist. "Fine, I'll humor you, mysterious voice." He winds up and punches the wall full force which causes him to immediately recoil and yell out in pain. The voice laughs, only slightly, and Gabriel looks at his hand which is now bleeding. " **I did not say to hit it with such force."** Gabriel holds his hand and looks at the wall, spattered with his spilled blood. "What the fuck is happening?!" Gabriel says, wincing from the pain. " **In due time, for now, you must wake up. You have company."**

Gabriel snaps awake to see Moka standing over him with a look of worry on her face. "Gabriel, you're bleeding! What happened?" Gabriel quickly looks down at the bed to see blood soaking through the blanket. He pulls his hand out from underneath to see his bloodied hand, he looks at it speechlessly. Moka frantically looks around the room for bandages. "My hand, that's impossible." He says to himself quietly. Moka returns with bandages and starts wrapping his hand tightly. "What happened Gabriel?" Moka asks as she quickly wraps his hand. Gabriel stammers before responding, "I-I don't know. I guess I cut it somehow in my sleep." Immediately Gabriel's eyes go wide, feeling no pain in his side anymore. As Moka finishes dressing his wound he slides off of the bed and Moka tries to pull him back, "Gabriel, lay down you're hurt." He shakes his head and pats his side, "I don't feel anything. I'm better. Guess it was your lunch that healed me up." He says smiling. "Why the hell doesn't my side hurt? I could have sworn that my ribs were at least cracked. Now I feel good as new." Moka pats his side, "Wow that's incredible!" Gabriel jumps up and down several times. "Good as new." The two collect their things and leave the infirmary. "I don't think I need bedrest for a cut hand. I'll be fine, let's get outta here." Gabriel says and they walk down the hallway. The sun outside has begun to set as they step outside. The two walk towards the dormitories and part ways as they enter their separate dorms. Gabriel walks upstairs to his floor and walks to his room. As he grows closer to his door he sees Saizo leaning against the wall next to his door. Gabriel scowls and Saizo notices him. "What the hell do you want? Round 2?" Gabriel says baring his teeth, but Saizo puts his hands up and looks at him humbly. "No! No! You got the wrong idea man!" Gabriel lowers his guard and he looks at him accusingly. "Well, then why are you here?" Saizo walks forward and extends his hand, "I came to say sorry. I was a major asshole, I deserved to get the shit kicked out of me. I want to square things with us. Are we cool?" Gabriel looks at him suspiciously but grabs his hand and the two shake. "Yeah, we're cool. But if I catch you looking at Moka like that again I won't be so forgiving next time." Saizo nods and says, "Alright, thanks for being cool man." Gabriel responds, "Don't mention it-" He points right in Saizo's face, "Ever. I said we're cool but we're not friends." He pushes past him and enters his room. Shutting the door behind him he walks to his desk and slumps down in his chair. He pinches his forehead and groans loudly, "Two days here, it can't get much worse than this." He walks to his window and sees a white owl perched on a tree branch outside looking around. He watches the bird as it appears to be looking for something. The owl turns its gaze towards him and locks eyes with Gabriel. "Freaky bird." He says as he closes the blinds.

The owl flies off towards the forest and lands in the middle of the path. White feathers begin to flutter around it and Yoko emerges from the feathers, throwing her blonde hair back. "What a handsome young man, he's his spitting image. Sleep well, nephew because tomorrow you're saying hi to your Auntie Yoko." She walks down towards the academy. She smiles excitedly, "Auntie, I love the way it sounds. Don't worry Gabriel, I'll take good care of you. I swear."


	4. Charmed

Sunlight bathes the small dorm causing a groan of irritation to rise from Gabriel as he shifts in his bed. Slowly opening his eyes, he rises to a sitting position letting out a boisterous yawn as he stretches his arms. His focus shifts to his hand and to his surprise finds that he feels no pain coming from it. He quickly darts to his feet and unravels the bandages that Moka had previously applied. Adding to his shock he sees that there are no visible injuries or scarring. He opens and closes his fist tightly to see if his injuries are truly gone, only to be met by not a single bit of discomfort. Gabriel looks in disbelief but his stupor is quickly broken by a familiar voice ringing out in his head, **"Do not be alarmed, your sudden recovery is to be expected. Given who you are."** Gabriel shakes his head and repeatedly says, "No!" The voice responds to his denial suddenly. **"Calm your nerves, boy. You are not going mad, there is far too much to explain to you at this time. All you need to know for now is that we are one and the same."** Gabriel pinches his forehead, clearly fed up with lack of information being shared with him. "You know, I'm starting to get annoyed with all this cryptic nonsense. I am talking to a voice in my head, you can tell me anytime. You aren't going anywhere." The voice snaps back quickly, **"I would be wary of seeking revelations so soon. The answers you find may be more than you bargained for. But, I'm not speaking to you now so we may acquaint ourselves with one another. I came to warn you, I sense a presence that may seek to do you harm. Against my better judgement I am bestowing upon you an ability that will enable you to defend yourself."** Gabriel scoffs and asks snidely, "I would have appreciated this 'ability' when I was staring a giant monster in the face-" Before Gabriel can continue to complain about the sudden mention of this ability he is cut off when suddenly a clawed, blood-red, gauntlet appears on his right arm. It looks to be made of some kind of mysterious energy and it extends up to his elbow. Gabriel looks absolutely shocked and looks at his arm in awe. Red mist emanated from the gauntlet. **"Behold, the Shadow Whip. It is a mystical weapon forged from your own blood, do not let its appearance fool you. This is a deadly tool in the right hands. Surely you had felt in your previous engagement, your instinct take control. It is what allowed you to stand against such a foe despite your human frailty and lack of experience."** Gabriel thinks back to his fight with Saizo and how he avoided so many attacks and counterattacked in a way the would give him space to get Moka to safety. He thought about how he probably should have died. As he pondered this he looked at the gauntlet on his right arm and a sense of familiarity with the weapon passed through him. **"Your skills are unrefined but you have much potential yet unrealized. In time your combat prowess will grow and your mastery will reflect itself through the gauntlet, it will grow as you do. As it stands now, the Shadow Whip, will be considerably weaker than it has been before. Though, it is still durable enough to block attacks that would normally shatter the bones of normal men. Remain vigilant, you must always be ready for you never know when your foes may strike."** Gabriel calls out to the voice but receives no reply. He takes one last look at the gauntlet and it vanishes. "You know, this is probably the least concerning thing that's happened to me in the last few days."

Going about his morning routine he gets ready for his day, still dwelling what his life has become so suddenly and if his mother knew where she sent her only son and family. As he leaves the dormitory he spares some passing greetings to other students who walk past him until he hears a familiar voice and immediately the male students who also hear the voice stop in their tracks and spin around with violent jealousy in their stares. Gabriel simply returns their stares with a big, sly smile and turns his attention to Moka who came trotting up behind him. "Good morning Gabriel," Moka says, her face beaming with joy before Gabriel can respond she looks down at the hand that had been previously bandaged and notices that it seems to have healed completely. "Hey, your hand looks a lot better! I can't believe that it healed that much overnight." She says with surprise in her voice. She grabs his hand looks at it, in that instant Gabriel could feel the jealous glares intensify from the other male students in the vicinity. "Yeah neither can I. Guess your lunch really did the trick." Gabriel says scratching the back of his head. He knew that he couldn't mention what had happened less than an hour ago. Quickly his focus had shifted from Moka to a strange sensation that had put him on high alert. "Something feels wrong, it's not those guys...it's something else." He tried to survey his surroundings for the source of this feeling but he could not locate it. He was so focused on trying to find the source of this strange sensation that he had not seen Moka closing in on his neck. She plunged her fangs into his neck and started to drink his blood. Instinctively, Gabriel recoiled and pulled Moka off of him. "Moka! I thought I told you to ask first!" Gabriel exclaimed covering his neck with his hand. Still feeling the strange sensation bearing down on him he quickly got away from Moka who stood there with her finger on her lips. "Whoops, guess I forgot." She said innocently. She watched as Gabriel took off down another path to avoid another feeding, feeling a bit guilty about the actions she thought about how to best apologize without noticing that she was being watched by someone from behind a tree.

Gabriel stopped and found himself near a pond with a bench. He walked over and sat down on the bench sighing. "Geez, barely a week in and already everything is going sideways. Between Moka and everyone else I wouldn't be surprised if being hospitalized was a weekly occurrence." He looks at his right hand and the Shadow Whip manifests itself. He looks over the clawed gauntlet, closing and opening his fist. "And this thing raises enough questions as it is. Hopefully, I don't die before I can get some answers." From behind Gabriel, a voice rang out. "Perhaps you won't need to wait long for them." The voice came from a woman and immediately he dispelled the gauntlet and shot up from the bench. Before him a woman stood smiling, she was blonde and wore a red dress that ended a bit above her knees, it had long black sleeves that covered her arms, she wore black leggings that covered her legs and wore heels. What stood out the most was her face, something about it seemed familiar to Gabriel. "My my, you have grown into a handsome young man, Gabriel." She said still with a warm smile. Gabriel was taken aback by this stranger knowing his name, he had not seen her at the Academy and didn't think she was a staff member. He looked at her suspiciously and asked her how she knew his name. She giggled slightly, "Oh my dear Gabriel, I don't expect you to believe me but I knew you when you were just a baby. I'm your aunt." Gabriel's expression changed from that of suspicion to shock. "You're kidding right?! How am I supposed to believe that?" The woman reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know it is hard to believe. My sister's name is Alexandra, your mother, and your father's name is Jonathan Morris. You never knew your father, did you? My sister took you to America when you were so very young and we have only ever met when you were first born. My name is Yoko Belnades." Gabriel was at a loss for words but somehow he knew she was telling the truth but a part of him didn't want to believe that someone this important was kept a secret from him. "You're my a-aunt. I can't believe it." Yoko pulled her nephew into a warm embrace, closing her eyes and smiling. Gabriel's arms dangled off to his sides still in shock. "C'mon Gabriel, hug me like you love me." Yoko said facetiously, but was caught off guard when Gabriel wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed her. They let each other go and Yoko's face was filled with joy as she felt reunited with her family after so long. "You're just like your father, he was a big tough teddy bear." Gabriel looked at her dumbfounded but was overwhelmed with a feeling of contentment. "I have so many questions to ask you." Yoko put her hands on Gabriel's cheeks and kissed his forehead. "Later, you have to get to class, don't you. I don't want you missing out on your education. We'll talk after school, okay?" Gabriel simply nodded and grabbed his bag. Yoko waved to him as he walked down the path towards the school building.

The entire day Gabriel's mind was racing from the news that he could hardly focus and many times Moka had to snap him out of it by poking him in the back with a pencil. As the last class of the wrapped up Gabriel had gathered his things up quickly and was out of the door before Moka could say anything. Gabriel hurried down the hall with Moka trailing further behind until eventually losing sight of him. Quickly he left out of the front door and walked off towards the place where he met Yoko. His head swirled with the questions he had for her, questions about not only his family but about himself. He arrived at the spot and sat down on the bench, looking around for her. He began tapping his foot on the ground as his wait dragged on. His attention was piqued as he heard his name being called by a far-off voice. Before he could get up he felt a hand plop itself on his head. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, dear." He turned to see his aunt there and both smiled upon seeing each other. "Well maybe for about 16 years." He said removing her hand from his head. Yoko motioned for Gabriel to sit and followed suit as he sat back down. "So how was your day?" Yoko asked awkwardly. Gabriel only looked at the ground and said very somberly, "I don't mean to be disrespectful but I really want some answers. I have so many questions." Yoko sighs and readies herself. "Ask away." His mind was racing and didn't know where to start but soon his mind set on the one thing he always wanted to know. With a steady resolve in his voice, he looked his aunt in the eyes and asked, "Who was my father? Why did he leave me and my mother?" Yoko looked away, though she was ready for this question she had not yet thought how best to answer it. "Your father...well...your father's name was Jonathan Morris." Gabriel cut in, interrupting her, "I know that but who was he?" Yoko sighed heavily not knowing how he'd take the revelation of the truth of his father's life. "Your father was a hunter." Gabriel looked at her confused as to what she could mean by that, "A hunter?" Yoko closed her eyes briefly to steady herself for what she was about to say. "A vampire hunter." The words hit Gabriel like a sack of bricks and felt something recoil deep inside him. "My father hunted and killed vampires?" The words just barely managing to escape Gabriel's mouth as he thought of the idea of his father slaying the very thing could send a towering monster like Saizo careening into the side of a cliff like he was nothing. The very idea was implausible if not impossible to him, but as he thought about he considered how little the idea of impossibility meant now. "Wait, my father's last name is Morris. What is my mother's?" Gabriel quickly asked snapping out of his bewilderment. He was met by a very surprised gaze from Yoko, "Your mother never told you? You're a Belnades." Gabriel returned her expression with a rather blank stare. He had no idea of the weight that his last name carried in the world long since hidden from humanity. "Judging from you awe-inspired expression I take it you have no idea the gravity of your lineage?" Yoko asked with her bright smile returning to her face. "We come from a long line of very powerful magicians. The blood in your veins runs deep with legacies spanning over a thousand years." Yoko's face was beaming with delight recalling the history of the Belnades clan. "What?! So you're telling me my father was a vampire hunter and my mother and aunt are witches?!" Gabriel exclaimed in shock. Yoko wagged her finger in his face, "Not witches, magicians. There is a difference, hun." Gabriel darted up and started pacing, "I can't believe this...this is-" Yoko nodded understanding his feeling of disbelief, "I know this is a lot to take in." Yoko was quickly caught off guard when Gabriel seemed to suddenly burst with an almost child-like excitement "This is so cool! So do I have magic powers? Can I make fireballs or shoot lightning?" Yoko giggled at the sight of her nephew's delight. "Well no, but you do have incredible potential. Like any subject in school, you must practice and study. Which is why your mother never used any spells other than basic level sorceries. Shortly after you were born she just gave up on her studies" Gabriel interrupted her, "Wait I never saw her use any kind of...sorcery." Yoko pressed her fingers to her lips, "Hmm probably wanted to keep it a secret." Yoko pondered.

Before Gabriel could continue he heard a familiar voice calling his name which caused both of them to turn as Moka came jogging up the path, panting slightly and looking a bit winded. "There you are Gabriel, I've been looking for you everywhere." Moka looking past Gabriel and meeting eyes with Yoko. Not knowing why Gabriel was talking this woman, as she looked at her she noticed that Yoko was a beauty to be sure. Pangs of jealousy shot through Moka and as Gabriel walked closer to greet his friend she immediately clung to his arm and look at him with a sour expression. "Gabriel, who is this?" Gabriel was caught off guard by her sudden attachment. "Oh, Moka. This is my aunt." Moka's grip loosened as she was caught off guard by the sudden introduction. "Your aunt? I didn't know you had an aunt." Gabriel shrugged, "Yeah, me neither." Yoko stood up from her seat and bowed to slightly to Moka. "My name is Yoko Belnades, it is a pleasure to meet my nephew's girlfriend." Both of the teens immediately blushed hard. Moka letting go of her friend's arm and sheepishly retreating from Yoko's bright blue eyes. "She's not my girlfriend!" Gabriel barked with an obvious hint of embarrassment in his voice. Moka's embarrassment faded as she replayed what the woman's name was. "Wait, Belnades? I heard stories of the Belnades clan that helped established Yokai Academy. You're a part of that Belnades clan?" Yoko nodded her head proudly, "The one and only. Come we can talk while we walk you two home. I mustn't keep you all night." Yoko gestured down the path towards the dorms. As the three walked Gabriel couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, occasionally looking back he only caught slight glimpses of blue and yellow. "Is everything alright Gabriel?" Moka asked looking at her friend curious as to what he was doing. "Yeah, I just thought I saw something. Probably nothing."

From behind a tree a girl with blue hair, sporting a yellow sweater vest, watched the three walk away. "Dammit, I was gonna catch him this morning but that blonde bitch ruined my trap. Just wait, Gabriel Morris, tomorrow you're all mine." With resolve, she clenched her fist and pumped her arm which caused her more than supple bosom to bounce.

Arriving at the dorms the three prepared to part ways for the evening. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Where are you going to be staying?" Gabriel asked Yoko but she waved him off. "Oh silly me I forgot to tell you. Starting tomorrow I'm going to be the Head of Residency so I'll be close by." Both Moka and Gabriel exclaimed, "What?!" Yoko simply stuck her tongue out playfully, "Yep, I pulled a few strings so I could stay close to my darling nephew." Yoko then proceeded to shoo the teens away. "Go on now, you have homework and studying to do. I'll see you again soon." The two stood still for a moment before saying their goodbyes, turning and heading off to their respective dorms. The rest of the night went as usual for Gabriel, though his mind was still racing with everything that had happened today. After a while, he managed to fall asleep though he did not end up in a dream as he had planned.

Once more he found himself that strange place again, though not a hallway this time. He was standing in the middle of a large room with massive chandeliers and massive arrangements of candles who's melted wax draped down onto the floor, and scattered pieces of armor. Gabriel walked around the room trying to get his bearings. He quickly found himself standing outside a massive wooden door and as he tries to push it open he finds out that it is sealed shut."Hello?" He calls out, hoping to get a response from the voice again. **"There is no need to yell, we do not communicate like others."** The voice responded. "Why am I here? I'm trying to sleep." Gabriel says, slightly annoyed with him being pulled from his slumber. **"You are here so I can teach you how to use the Shadow Whip, your instincts may be have been enough to allow you hold your own against that orc for a bit. But, he was only the beginning. You will be tested in the future and they most likely won't be simple punks so you must be prepared. We will start with the basics. Summon your weapon, boy."** The voice said and quickly after Gabriel manifested the Shadow Whip. "To be honest I was hoping to find out what this thing can do." Gabriel said looking over the crimson gauntlet on his arm, opening and closing his fist. **"Very well, I will call forth your sparring partner. Beware for they will seek to end your life. Well, they will try."** The voice said almost amused by the thought of it. A rattling of metal is heard as some of the pieces of scattered armor began to pull themselves together until it resembled a person. Then it pulled a sword from its breastplate and stood ready to strike at Gabriel. "You gotta be kidding me." Gabriel said as he readied himself in a combat stance.

The armored figure lunged forward at Gabriel swinging for his head, attempting to decapitate him. Gabriel quickly ducked under the swing and rolled away to gain some distance. **"Wait for your opponent to strike and turn their attack against them, it will leave them open for a fierce counterstrike."** The voice barked. The armored figure quickly redirected its strike bringing the sword back. Gabriel responded by using the gauntlet to strike the figure's sword arm up and away, leaving it open. Gabriel then spun around and stuck out with the whip, crumbling the figure into a heap of discarded armoronce more. "Woah, that felt-" Gabriel said with a feeling of adrenaline flowing through his body. **"Exhilarating isn't it? The thrill of combat? Do not rest easy, however. That is simply the of a spirit of a fallen peon who fell in a battle long past. But I see the ease with which you wield that weapon, you are indeed a fast learner. Though that is to be expected."** The voice says with a hint of satisfaction. **"Again!"** the voice barked as another suit of armor began to rise from the ground, this time armed with a large warhammer. **"This fool thinks to overpower you with brute force, do not try to take the brunt of his attack or else you risk being knocked off balance. Be quick on your feet and observe your enemy, take note of their strengths and weaknesses."** The voice commanded as the hammer-wielding armor charged forward. "Yes, sir!" Gabriel exclaimed as he dodged a massive overhead swing and lashing out with a flurry of quick strikes with his whip. **"That's it! Use your reach to your advantage, make him come to you!"** The voice instructed while Gabriel continued to evade the heavy swings of the warhammer before quickly counterattacking. Dodging a few more attacks from the possessed armor, Gabriel reduced it to a heap of clattering steel. **"Impressive, for one so young."** The voice commended.

The gauntlet vanishing from his arm as Gabriel folds his arms, "So are you going to tell me what this all means. I've never been into anything more than fights in school with asshole bullies." The voice let out a low chuckle, **"And how did those fights end? I imagine that rabble never even laid a hand on you, even when you were a child."** Gabriel thought back to those fights, he thought he was lucky. Their punches never landed but more than that, most fights were over with quickly He thought he just got a lucky punch in. But, the more he thinks about the more he realizes the blows were precise and were meant to do the most damage possible. **"If you are so desperate for answers I will tell you one thing that you should do. Ask your aunt of the Brotherhood of Light."** The voice said with a hint of disgust in his voice. But before Gabriel could ask any further questions he was called back to the work by the whining of his alarm clock.

"Great, more fucking mysteries." Gabriel spat out, rising from his bed. He got up and went to his window as the morning sun shone through. He let out a loud sigh and began to get ready for his day. As he went out into the hallway to get some water to wash up he noticed that there was a distinct lack of commotion in the dorm. It was all eerily quiet, but he pushed it the back of his mind and went on with his business. "I swear if this place isn't trying to kill you, it's creeping you the hell out." Gabriel said as he put on his uniform and finished combing his hair.

Though his suspicions were raised as during his commute there was hardly another student anywhere. He hurried along the path towards the main building. "Excuse me, are you Gabriel Morris?" A shy voice said from behind Gabriel, who quickly spun around to see a girl dressed in a yellow sweater that accentuated her chest; which he tried to avoid staring at. "Um, yeah that's me. Who uh...who are you?" Gabriel managed to sputter out while trying to avoid staring at the girl's breasts. This causes a small smile to appear on her lips which she quickly tried to hide. "My name's Kurumu Kurono, it's nice to meet you. There have been some rumors that you stuck it to that bully Saizo." She said trying to look bashful. Gabriel gave her a suspicious look for a brief moment, "Excuse me, how exactly do you know my name." Gabriel asked. Kurumu responded with a small laugh and a warm smile. "Well we are in the same class, I sit in the back of the room. Plus, you are the only foreign student. You're from America right?" Kurumu asked. "Raised all my life in there. Guess I would stick out like a sore thumb then." Gabriel said slightly embarrassed by his suspicion. Quickly Kurumu latched onto Gabriel's arm, squeezing it between her breasts, "Oh yay! I was a little nervous you would be a big scary tough guy, but you're a big softy, aren't you? I was hoping we could be friends!" Kurumu said as she clung to Gabriel. More and more Gabriel began to get flustered which is precisely the reaction she had been hoping for. "Uh, sure that sounds fine to me." Gabriel said trying to avert his gaze from her chest. Seeing this as her chance Kurumu clung to his shirt forcing him to look into her eyes. "Hey, do me a favor and look me in the eyes so I know you're being honest." She cooed as she began to cast a charm on him. Quickly, Gabriel felt his freewill slipping. Gritting his teeth he tried to resist her influence, "W-what i-is th-this?!" He manage to say. Kurumu thought to herself, _"Damn he's more resilient than the others! Gotta try a stronger charm."_ Kurumu focused and tried her hardest to put Gabriel under her control. Gabriel couldn't resist for long, he was tired from his restless night and he was caught off-guard. He felt the last bit of his autonomy slip away and it felt like he was an unwilling passenger watching through his eyes. "Yes. Kurumu." Gabriel said in a zombie-like tone. A twisted smile formed on Kurumu's face as she got closer to Gabriel's face, "Yes what, Darling?" She asked with a distinct hint of satisfaction. "I am all yours, babe." He responded which caused Gabriel to want to puke in his own mouth. _"Babe?! Oh hell no that is not me!"_ He thought, disgusted by what he had unwillingly said. **"Disappointing! You're allowing this harlot to take control of you?"** The voice snarled. _"Don't really got a lot of say in this matter."_ Gabriel thought as he struggled to regain control. "Now all that's left is to remove that last little obstacle in the way of the plan. That little goodie two shoes, Moka. I thought I would have been impossible to pry Gabriel away from her but thankfully she wasn't clinging to him today. Which means she's all alone, getting rid of her will be easy." Kurumu said satisfied with how smooth her plan is going. Turning to Gabriel she put her finger on his chest, "Wait here boytoy, once I take care of some business we can get to having some fun of our own." She cooed as a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from her back along with a long, black tail. She took off from the ground flying away to look for Moka.

" _Dammit, she's gonna hurt Moka! I need to find her first but I can't move my body."_ Gabriel thought as he strained to move. **"Focus, boy! Lest your friend's blood be on your hands because of your weakness!"** The voice commanded. _"You think I'm standing around here for the hell of it? Why don't you lend me a hand instead of yelling at me?"_ Gabriel snapped. The voice did not respond leaving Gabriel to curse to himself. He continued to struggle as he thought of Moka lying on the ground at the feet of that girl, no, that monster Kurumu. His rage started to burn hotter and his conviction grew stronger. If she some much as touched Moka he would make her pay dearly. Yelling out as he broke free of Kurumu's mental control. "I have to find Moka, now!" Hearing a tree collapse off in the distance he decided he would check there first. He quickly broke into a sprint heading towards the sound. The thoughts of his friend laying in a bloody pool drove him further into a rage.

He quickly came upon the site of the crash, a tree had been cleaved completely in half. Something incredibly sharp sliced through the tree with not even the slightest hint of resistance. His shock was replaced with concern and anger as he saw Moka laying on the ground. "Moka!" Gabriel exclaimed. Moka turned to Gabriel as her look of fear turned to hope and joy as she looked at her friend coming to her aid. "Gabriel! It's you! I was walking to class when I was suddenly attacked by this girl." She explained as Gabriel gritted his teeth in anger. "Kurumu. Did she hurt you?" He asked. She shook her head, "No, I managed to get out of the way of her attack before she could cut me down like that tree." Moka said dusting herself off as she stood up. A slight wave of relief came over Gabriel before they were interrupted by a familiar voice from above. "My you are a pain in the ass aren't you? I gave you my strongest charm and you still broke free. Does your little girlfriend really mean that much to you?" Kurumu spat, annoyed by Gabriel's tenacity. Gabriel looked up and growled upon hearing her words. "And Moka now all you two get to do is die together! So sad, I wouldn't have minded having him as a love slave. But at least he won't have to go on as your blood bag." Kurumu snickered. "He's not my blood bag! He's my dear friend and it's me you really want! So just kill me and please let him go!" Moka pleaded. Gabriel was astounded by Moka's words, "Moka…" Gabriel said to himself. Kurumu looked on in disgust, "What a load of bull, the only use men have are as slaves! If you're in such a hurry to die for your friend then let me indulge you!" Kurumu yelled as she began to swoop towards the two, poised to strike. "Moka, I ain't about to let you get hurt for my sake. If I'm going down then I'm going down fighting!" Gabriel yelled out as he spun around ready to defend Moka, unconsciously grabbing Moka's rosary.

A bright light burst forth from Moka as her seal came undone. She began to transform into her true self. Silver hair and crimson eyes, a powerful aura. Kurumu stopped her advance when she saw Moka's true form. "No way! Is that the true form of a vampire?!" Kurumu managed to get out despite her obviously being shaken by Moka's incredible power. Gabriel turned and looked at Moka's true self. Everything seemed so different about her, was she still even the same Moka? "What have we got here? A big-headed succubus who doesn't know her place. Maybe it's time I teach you." Moka said cracking her knuckles. "No! I can't lose here! I'm on a mission for the good of my people if I don't succeed then it could mean the extinction of our race!" Kurumu said trying to push through her fear and charging at Moka. Moka was prepared to leap in and engage the succubus but was interrupted by Gabriel manifesting a strange red gauntlet on his right arm. Without fear, he charged forward to intercept Kurumu. She swiped at Gabriel who blocked it with the gauntlet and followed up with a palm strike to her solar plexus sending her back up into the air. He ran forward and springboarded off the newly formed tree stump using the height to strike forward with the Shadow Whip, the sanguine whip wrapping around Kurumu's leg. Gabriel swung forward towards a tree. Landing with his feet firmly planted against the tree he anchored himself and Kurumu, preventing her from fleeing any higher. He looked back at Moka who was surprised by the fluidity of his movements, "Now Moka! Take her down!" Gabriel commanded which snapped Moka from her stupor, she responded by quickly nodding and leaping an inhuman distance into the air. "Know your place!" Moka yelled out as she kicked Kurumu into the ground, Gabriel dissipating the whip as she plummeted to the ground. Kurumu landing hard into the ground and slamming her back into a tree which knocked the wind. "W-what happened?" She said weakly. Moka was not done, however, furious that this succubus would try to take control and then kill Gabriel. "I don't trust that you'll stop after a beat down like this. To make sure you can't try this again I'll tear them off, your wings and tail." Moka threatened as she loomed menacingly over Kurumu. "N-n-no please, have mercy. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, please don't!" Kurumu pleaded, absolutely terrified. Moka slowly approached the helpless succubus before being stopped by Gabriel blocking her path his arm, the Shadow Whip still covering his arm. "What are you doing? Step aside, don't you see she'll just keep doing this, again and again, I'm ending this now." Moka said, aggravated by Gabriel stopping her advance. "No, I can't agree with what she did but I can understand why she did it. If the fate of my family was at stake, I'd do anything to help them. I can tell she has a good heart if not a little rough around the edges, kinda like you." Gabriel said looking down at the injured Kurumu, his rage subsiding. Kurumu began to sob at this gesture, and Moka snatched the rosary from Gabriel's left hand. "Listen, just because I helped you out here doesn't mean we're gonna be all buddy buddy like the other me. You're just blood to me, but still, you got some impressive moves I'll give you that." Moka said with a slight smile as she put the rosary back on, turning back into her pink-haired self. "I'll see you around spooky." Gabriel said smiling as he caught Moka who was collapsing into his arms.

He let Moka down slowly, still holding her gently. She opened her emerald eyes to be met by his bright blue eyes. "Hey, you." Moka tiredly said, smiling warmly. "Hey," Gabriel responded unable to stop himself from smiling. "What happened to Kurumu?" Moka asked. "I don't think she'll be a problem anymore." Gabriel answered looking up at the tree where Kurumu landed, she was nowhere to be found. Yoko came running from the school, "Are you two okay I heard a ruckus and there was a report of missing stud-" Yoko spat before looking at the scene before her which put a smile on her face, "Goodness me, am I interrupting something?" Yoko teased which caused Moka and Gabriel's face to grow bright red. "No, you are not!" Gabriel snapped. Yoko giggled, "I'm only teasing, I know my nephew wouldn't do something so inappropriate in such a public place. Anyways, classes are canceled for the day. There are reports of a massive spread of charms and a lot of male students were affected so we are letting them take the day off to recover. So the day is yours, lovebirds." Yoko said winking at the two and scurrying off. "Your aunt is definitely a character." Moka remarked still blushing. "Believe it or not but my mom is still worse. Must be genetic." Gabriel jokingly said. Moka giggled and the two stood up next to each other. "What now?" Moka asked. "I dunno, a walk maybe?" Gabriel suggested. She nodded and the two walked off together

Yoko closed the door to her office and sat at her desk. "He used it, he already can use it. This can't be right, this is too soon. Hopefully, his other abilities won't awaken this soon. Oh, Alucard you need to hurry up and get here." Yoko said with a look of worry on her face.

Moka and Gabriel came upon the bench next to the pond and they sat down together. They sat in silence for a brief moment before Gabriel broke the silence. "Hey, can I tell you something?" He asked looking over at Moka. Moka met his gaze with a curious look on her face, "Sure go ahead." She responded. "After what you said about the whole wanting to die for my sake I figured that I could tell you this. I don't want there to be anything left in the shadows I want to be completely upfront with you." Gabriel said which confused Moka more. "What do you mean?" She asked. "I mean I found out some stuff about my family, besides what you know about my mother's side of the family. I found out that my dad wasn't some deadbeat dad who left me and my mom, he was a hunter." Gabriel explained, preparing himself in the process. "What do you mean a hunter? Like a game hunter?" Moka asked, clearly confused. "No, a vampire hunter." He said solemnly. Moka gasped and covered her mouth, "Are you sure?" Moka quickly asked. Gabriel simply nodded expecting Moka to get up and leave. Instead, she put her arm around her friend, "That's a shocker for sure, but I don't care you're still my friend and I know you aren't like your father." She said assuredly. "That's just it though when I heard Kurumu was going to go after you I was filled with some much anger I was going to kill her if she so much as touched you. I don't think I would have had a hard time doing it either." He said with a deadly serious tone. He raised his right arm and summoned the Shadow Whip which caused Moka to recoil a bit. "Gabriel, what is that?!" She asked. Gabriel rotated his arm to look at it, "Not entirely sure myself, but it's clearly a weapon. The how and why are still a mystery to me." He explained as he picked up and a rock and crushed it in the clawed gauntlet before dissipating it. With resolve, Moka grabbed Gabriel's arm, "Then we'll find out together, regardless of the answer I'll be with you every step of the way!" She exclaimed which made Gabriel smile. "I don't think I could have picked a better person to have hit me with their bike." He responded snidely. Moka lightly punched him in the arm and the two of them laughed.

After a bit of mindless chatter about school and other miscellaneous topics, the two headed home, each heading back to their respective dorms. As Gabriel walked through the halls to his room he could hear the other boys groaning in their rooms. "Guess breaking that mental hold takes its toll. I don't even have so much as a headache." He remarked. **"You aren't like these monsters, you are stronger. More resilient. Still, it was foolish of you to fall for her trick."** The voice mocked. "Yeah yeah, well I handled it. Problem solved the day is saved and all that." Gabriel responded exhausted with the voice's constant jabbering. **"Yet the succubus still lives? Why did you not destroy her?"** The voice asked. Gabriel sighed as he stepped into his room, "I know you were listening when I told Moka this. I understand that what she did was wrong but I also understand why she did it. Besides, if she did hurt Moka I would have killed her." Gabriel responded thought back to how furious he was, how his greatest desire at that moment was to completely destroy Kurumu. "My mom always told me that you need to look after the people who look after you. Whether that be blood or your friends. In all honesty, I wouldn't mind talking to her right about now, I have a lot of questions for her." As Gabriel took off his shoes the voice chuckled and remarked with a hint of hostility, **"Kept in the dark by your own mother. I wonder how much she knowingly kept from you if she was willing to lie about your father."** Gabriel sighed as that looming thought was brought forward. He didn't want to think his mother would willingly lie to him about something so big. But, after everything that's happened, he couldn't ignore the fact that she had been hiding so much from him for so long. Yet he still did not understand why his mother would send him here if she was trying to hide something from him. **"You have the suspicion that you're just the pawn in a larger game, don't you?"** The voice asked. Gabriel looked down at his right arm and clenched his fist. "Maybe I am, I don't really care right now. I have class tomorrow and I need to get a full night's sleep if that's okay with you?" Gabriel said shutting off his light and laying down. The voice said nothing and Gabriel chuckled slightly, "Yeah, good night." Turning over in bed he shut his eyes and went to sleep

Surprisingly he would be allowed his rest, no strange dreams or winding up in that weird place. Rising from his bed he realized he woke up a whole 30 minutes before his alarm would wake him up. Groaning as he looks at his alarm clock he rolled out of bed and got ready for his day. Once he got fully dressed for the day he picked up his school bag and headed out the door and towards the main path that led to the school building. "Hey! Gabriel wait up!" A familiar voice rang out from behind him. Moka quickly came strolling up behind him, the same bright smile on her face. "Moka, good morning. You're up early, I thought vampires were nocturnal." Gabriel said jokingly. "I could say the same thing for you, you're usually not out and about for another 45 minutes," Moka responded lingering close Gabriel's side. "To be fair, with how crazy the last few days have been I really haven't established a solid routine that didn't involve regular violence." Gabriel remarked as he stretched. "Yoohoo Gabriel!" Another voice he did not think he would be hearing any time soon. Before he could react to the voice's greeting he had his face shoved between a pair, of what could only be described two giant mounds of heaven for a man. "Oh, I am so happy I ran into you!" The voice said cheerfully. Managing to pry himself free of his squishy prison he saw the smiling face of the succubus who had tried to kill both of them yesterday, Kurumu Kuruno. "Kurumu?! What are you doing here, why are you clinging to Gabriel like that?" Moka asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Well after yesterday, when this brave hunk here saved me from that other Moka I decided that he would be the one!" Kurumu exclaimed. Gabriel looked up, trying to avoid being smothered again, "What do you mean 'the one'?" Gabriel asked. "Oh, I didn't tell you? Well as I briefly explained yesterday, my race is few in number so to ensure we have children of our own we use our charms and feminine wiles to attract a large pool of possible mates. From that pool, we choose our Destined One. And after you selflessly saved me yesterday I decided that it is you!" She gleefully explained. "What?!" Exclaimed both Gabriel and Moka. Managing to free himself from another smothering Gabriel stood up straight but Kurumu quickly latched onto his arm, conveniently placing his arm right between her bosom. "So Gabriel why don't you and I go and grab breakfast before class starts?" Kurumu said starting to drag Gabriel away but Moka quickly grabbed Gabriel's other arm and started pulling him towards her. "Hey! Gabriel is my friend you can't just take him for himself!" Moka protested. Kurumu pulled Gabriel pulled back, "I already said he's my Destined One so we're practically already married!" Kurumu shouted back. Moka harrumphed and decided to yank Gabriel towards her, quickly sinking her fangs into his neck which made Kurumu flare with jealousy. _"Kill me."_ Gabriel thought to himself as he realized that his days just got more hectic. **"Don't worry boy, I'm sure these two will take of that for you."** The voice remarked somewhat humorously. _"Fuck you,"_ Gabriel responded mentally.


	5. Trickery

"Jesus, I can't catch a break, can I? I get caught in so much crap and still after all that I have to take these stupid exams." Gabriel groaned as he looked at his placement on his exams, 122nd. He pinched his forehead and groaned loudly, "If my mom saw this she'd kill me." He thought as he imagined his mother's disappointment. Off behind him, he heard three male students bragging about their placements, top 200's. "You know, that really doesn't make me feel better," Gabriel said to himself as he searched the list for Moka's name. "Well shit, that's a kick in the ass ain't it?" Gabriel noted as he saw Moka was top 15. A commotion stirred up behind him, the other guys ogling Moka as she walked towards the results board. Gabriel met her halfway, "Congratulations are in order, sure as hell blew my position out of the water." Gabriel said as he pointed back to the board with his thumb. Moka responded with a reassuring smile, "With how crazy things have been I'm surprised you did as well as you did." Unsure if she was making fun of him or complimenting him he simply gave an uneasy thanks. "If you want I could help you study. I usually study in my room but I guess it would be nice to have a study partner." Moka offered. The two smiled at each other, "I might have to take you up on that offer." Gabriel responded which drew the ire of the other male students. How did this American punk nab the attention of one of the hottest and smartest girls at the school? By now Gabriel was used to the constant daggers in his back from the jealous glares of the guys and even some of the girls.

A little ways away a small girl in a witch hat stood behind a pillar gazing at Moka. "Well well well, looks like someone outdid herself again. Number 1 again, I guess they let you skip all those grades for a reason. You may be smart but you better not press your luck." A shifty looking student said as he and three lackeys approached the girl. "Press my luck? What do you mean by that?" The girl asked innocently. One of the lackey's lunged forward and boisterously pointed out her outfit, "Why don't we start with that stupid witch outfit?" The other lackey, a more portly looking guy, looked over with laviscious intent, "It's totally against the dress code, you better take it off. Hehe." The girl seemed to cower a bit, "But this is my only-" The girl tried to explain before she was cut off by their leader. "As your class president, the fact that you're even here gives me enough of a headache so why don't spare us the sob story?" He remarked while him and cronies started laughing. The girl chuckled a bit while she used a wand, which she hid behind her back, to drop brass wash tubs on each of their heads. Immediately she broke out laughing, wiping some tears from her eyes, "Serves you right you stupid jerks!" She said. The leader got up and snarled, furious he lunged forward with sharp claws. "Why you?! Don't you know who I am?!" He yelled as he tried to attack the girl. Quickly Moka stepped in front of the girl, "What do you think you're doing attacking little girls?" Moka asked which made the class president stop in his tracks. This attracted the attention of Gabriel who jogged over. "What's going on here?" Gabriel asked, looking at the class president. He noticed his arm was raised to strike at something. He looked down to see a small girl cowering behind Moka. Other students turned to look at the commotion. "Hey aren't those guys from class 2?" Students murmured. "Ain't that the guy who laid out Saizo? Morris right?" Students noted as they felt the possible escalation in the situation. The president looked around to notice all eyes on him, "Let's leave this here, c'mon guys let's get out of here." He said as he and his two followers turned and walked away. "Filthy witch, being stuck in the same class with your kind makes me sick." He spat as he walked away. This struck a nerve with Gabriel, "Tch." he gritted his teeth and quickly strode up behind the president. Moka tried to stop him but knew they probably deserved what was coming. Gabriel grabbed the president's shoulder and cocked his arm back. The entire crowd waited in bated breath as the president quickly turned his head just in time to see Gabriel's fist connect with his jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground. The girl looked on in surprise to see this sudden outburst, she heard about the rumors of him beating down Saizo but never expected him to just sucker punch her class president. "Prez!" The skinny follower said as he and his chubby comrade were left in shock after seeing their president get laid out. "Ain't so tough when you ain't picking on little girls are you? Why don't you get up so I can knock you down a few more pegs or do you need your backup dancers to step in for you?" Gabriel antagonized. The president propped himself up, a bit of blood trickling from his lip. "You damn punk I'll show you what happens when you disrespect my authority!" The president threatened but before he could get up and attack he was interrupted by a whistle being blown. "Alright break it up! You three get back to class before I write you up." Yoko commanded as she walked up on the scene. "But he's the one-" The portly one tried to protest before being interrupted by Yoko. "I saw you three harassing this girl, be glad I don't suspend you three right here." Yoko threatened as she looked at the three students with contempt. "Damn, don't think this is the end. Either of you. You better watch your back." The president warned as he and his boys scampered off. "Make sure you wash that dirt off your face before it looks like you've been eating that bullshit you're spewing!" Gabriel taunted. Yoko spun around and looked straight at her nephew with the same contempt which caused Gabriel to lose his cocky smile and revert to the look of a puppy who had just been yelled at. "And you mister-" she said while looking at her clipboard, "Morris should be ashamed of yourself. Violence is never the answer if you have a problem with another student you should bring forward to faculty." Yoko lectured as she looked around to see if the three had gone and the students stopped gawking. When she saw the coast was clear she smiled wide and Gabriel returned suit when he realized she was putting on show to look official. The students must not have known that the two are related. "Atta boy Gabriel! My sister raised you right." She commended as she low-fived her nephew. "What can I say, I hate bullies." Gabriel responded coolly. Yoko gestured to the school building, "Alright get going kiddos, and you mister Morris. I'll you off with a warning this time." She said with wink, to which Gabriel responded with a nod. The girl looked on in complete bewilderment the entire time and Moka just laughed awkwardly.

The three sat together at a table in the cafeteria, the girl facing towards Moka and Gabriel. She bowed her head slightly, "Thanks for stepping in like that and giving that creep what he deserved." The girl said. "Oh, it's no trouble at all. Guys shouldn't go around picking on girls. Right, Gabriel?" Moka said looking over at her friend who was rubbing his hand which was now sore. He simply nodded in agreement. "I should introduce myself, I'm Yukari Sendo of class 2." The girl said. "I heard about you, you're in our class but you're 4 years younger." Moka remarked. Gabriel looked up in surprise, "4 years?!" Gabriel exclaimed So you skipped a few grades, guess you're a regular brainiac." He rested his head on his hands while looking at Yukari inquisitively. "You know, Gabriel I think I was wrong about. When I heard you were the one who beat up Saizo I thought you were just another punk like those creeps. Looks like you actually have some principles, though your grades have left a bit to be desired." Yukari said eyeing Gabriel. "Trust me, I share your feeling. It's been a big adjustment coming here and I haven't really had a whole lot of time to study as much as I'd like to. My mom would have my hide if she saw my grades." Gabriel responded while scratching his head nervously. Moka looked over to her friend inquisitively, "Was your mom really strict or something when you were little?" Moka asked. Yukari quickly answered for Gabriel, "Clearly not that strict if she let him grow his hair like that." Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes, "Actually, she was somewhat strict. I mean certainly she was no drill sergeant but she did have high expectations for me. Good enough was never something I should have been fine with. She always expected me to push myself and if I failed I was always expected to work twice as hard to overcome it." Gabriel stated. Moka's eyes widened as she expressed her surprise, "Wow so she kept you busy didn't she. But, I guess if she knew what's been happening she'd understand." Moka suggested.

Yukari looked at Gabriel with jealous eyes, "Regardless, I don't think Moka should be hanging out with such a simpleton. Compared to me and Moka you're an oaf like Saizo." Yukari taunted, trying to goad Gabriel. "Excuse me what did you say?" Gabriel asked menacingly. Moka's expression turned to one of worry. "I said you don't deserve a beautiful and intelligent woman like Moka." Yukari reaffirmed sticking her face in Gabriel's. "Getting awful big for someone so small." Gabriel growled. "Getting real tough for someone who can only throw sucker punches." Yukari retorted. Before Gabriel could say anymore Moka grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, "Gabriel that's 're taking things too seriously." Moka stated with a scowl on her face. "Me?! She's the one who started it! Even after I punched out that creep who was attacking her." Gabriel pointed out rising from his seat. "I never asked for your help and I definitely didn't need it." Yukari scoffed. Gabriel's jaw dropped as he looked at Yukari and back to Moka. "You're seriously not going to say anything about that?!" Gabriel asked Moka in disbelief. "To be fair they were already leaving when you stepped in. You might have accidentally made things worse." Moka stated while Yukari slinked behind Moka, smiling deviously. "She's fucking smiling, something funny runt? Huh?!" Gabriel said as his temper began to swell. Moka stood up to block Gabriel's advances, "Enough! She's just a kid, leave her alone. She's just under a lot of stress from being picked on so much just because she's different. You should know what that feels like." Moka said. Gabriel frowned as he looked into Moka's eyes, "That's completely different and you know it." Gabriel snarled. Seeing this level of hostility from Gabriel immediately drove Moka to shove Gabriel away from her and Yukari which shocked Gabriel. "Just go if you're gonna be like this." Moka said. Gabriel backed up and exhaled in disappointment, he nodded repeatedly as he turned and walked away. Pointing to Yukari while turning to face them slightly, "I thought you were gonna have my back a little bit here, but seeing as you want to protect that conniving little weasel from someone who just knocked some asshole out for her then, by all means, do it by yourself." Gabriel said while walking away. He did not notice that Yukari had summoned a washtub full of water that was poised to spill all over the floor. Gabriel sprung her trap and he slipped and hit his head, cutting him on the forehead causing blood to trickle down his face and over his left eye. Moka instinctively started to move to help Gabriel upon seeing him hurt but stopped as she saw the anger in his eyes. His face twisted into an ugly scowl as he used his hand to staunch the flow of blood. Behind Moka's back, Yukari stuck her tongue out at Gabriel, further infuriating him. Collecting himself off the ground he left the cafeteria and headed for the infirmary. Kurumu walking past the cafeteria door as Gabriel left. She looked into the cafeteria and saw Yukari cowering behind Moka who did not move from her spot but looked at Kurumu concerned. Quickly Kurumu followed after Gabriel.

Gabriel and Kurumu entered the infirmary, Gabriel sitting on the edge of the bed while Kurumu grabbed some disinfectant and bandages. "So what happened Gabe?" Kurumu asked as she dabbed some disinfectant on a cotton swab. "Long story short. Helped someone, turns out they're a total dick." Gabriel said, "But it must be that I'm the dick because Moka decided to stick up for them instead of me." He explained as he winced from the sting of the disinfectant cleaning his cut. "That's messed up. I thought you and Moka were friends since day one." Kurumu inquired. "Guess that doesn't mean jack here. I mean am I an asshole for not wanting some respect after lending a hand to someone?" Gabriel asked. Kurumu shook her head, "Not at all, if you want my opinion I think Moka is in the wrong for not backing you up." Kurumu said, "I think you're too much of a sweetie, always sticking your neck out for her." She continued while grabbing a bandage. "Alright Kurumu, now's your chance. He's pissed at Moka, time to make him see you're prime wife material. I should thank Yukari for this later!" Kurumu thought to herself as she drew in close to apply the bandage. The tips of their noses just a breath away from touching, their eyes meeting. Just as Kurumu applied the bandage to his head she tried to "accidentally" lose her balance and fall on top of Gabriel. Unexpectedly Gabriel stood up, causing Kurumu to fall forward on the bed, and faced the doorway. Kurumu silently cursed to herself for the failed attempt to seduce Gabriel and sat on her knees. "I don't know, maybe I did overreact a bit. I mean she still is just a kid." Gabriel said, his tone softening, as he sat next to Kurumu. "I hear she has a history of acting out like that and that no one wants to be friends with her because of that." Kurumu said as she inched closer, almost shoulder to shoulder. "Well maybe if she stopped acting like such a brat they'd actually talk to her." Gabriel suggested. "I say you don't worry about it now, all this is just gonna stress you out more. It just so happens that I happen to be a great masseuse and can help relieve some of that stress if you'd like of course." Kurumu said while trying to rest her head on Gabriel's shoulder. "Thanks but I think I'd rather-" Gabriel said as he was interrupted by his hand suddenly moving of their own volition. Against his wishes his found his hands quickly grabbing and squeezing on Kurumu's breasts, fulfilling her wishes at the same time. "Oh dear if that's what you want you should have just asked, not that I mind you being so spontaneous." Kurumu cooed as she gasped upon being so suddenly fondled by her Destined One. Gabriel's face now bright red he tried to remove his hands but he only ended up grabbing tighter, much to Kurumu's delight and his horror. "No no no no no no! This isn't me, my hands moved on their own." Gabriel desperately tried to explain. However, Kurumu was too caught up in the moment, "You don't need to make excuses, I know my boobs are perfectly squeezable." She said as Gabriel's panic then shot into overdrive when he heard the door open. His life shattered as he saw that it was Moka who opened the door, coming to check on her friend. There was a look of horror Gabriel's face, a look of intense jealousy on Moka's, and a look of ecstasy on Kurumu's. "Did I interrupt something, Gabriel?" Moka asked accusingly. Gabriel quickly shook his head repeatedly, "No! This isn't what it looks like. Nothing is going on here!" Gabriel frantically spat out. "I disagree." Kurumu said. Gabriel looked up at Kurumu, "Shut up! You are not helping!" Gabriel barked. They were all interrupted when they heard mischievous giggle outside of the window. They all turned to look at see, Gabriel still firmly latched to Kurumu's chest, to a familiar hat stick above the windowsill which quickly tried to duck away from sight. Upon being discovered Gabriel's hands were free and he quickly detached himself from Kurumu, much to her displeasure.

Gabriel took hold of the voodoo doll and shoved in Moka's face. "This is the shit I'm talking about, this is seriously not okay!" Gabriel exclaimed, "Be glad she was just interested in a sick prank instead of using that to get rid of me, permanently." Gabriel said to Moka who looked down a Yukari who sat at a desk hiding her face under the brim of her large hat. Moka knew Gabriel had a point but she was hesitant to scold Yukari as harsh as Gabriel wanted her too, "I know but," Moka lightly said as she was interrupted by Gabriel. "No, no 'but's' this has to stop now." Gabriel stated firmly as he slammed his hands on Yukari's desk and looked down at her. "Listen, you have to stop this crap." He commanded, "You keep this up and you'd have to be really dumb to not know why anyone doesn't want to be your friend. Moka and I won't always be around to save your skin." Gabriel scolded. Yukari looked down at her desk and said under her breath, "Who cares, why would I need friends when they all hate me already?" Yukari asked rhetorically. This caught Gabriel off-guard who didn't know how he should respond. Quickly, Yukari slid out from her seat and ran out of the room. When Kurumu reached out to stop her, Gabriel grabbed her arm to stop her, "Let her go." Gabriel said. His hair draping over his face, hiding his expression. "Tell me, why would the other students hate her? Besides her behavior." Gabriel asked anyone, looking down at where Yukari was sitting. Kurumu answered, crossing her arms, "It's probably because she's a witch." Kurumu stated, "Witches are half-human and half-monster, they've never really fit in anywhere. In the human world, witches were hunted down and put on trial. Even the magicians, who were thought to be allies to the witches, separated themselves from them to avoid being put on trial themselves. Things weren't much better in the monster world either, I'm sure I don't need to explain why. Yukari probably had to go through a lot growing up, her being so smart probably made her feel even more alone." Gabriel clenched his fists on the desk as he listened to Kurumu's explanation, "Guess I am the asshole after all." Gabriel said, expressing his guilt. "Gabriel, you couldn't have known. It's not your fault." Moka said trying to console Gabriel. He simply shook his head slowly, "No, it is. I should have realized she was only acting the way she was because she was looking for attention." Gabriel stated as he stood straight up. "I have to make this right, let's go find her." Gabriel said as he stepped out into the hallway.

Yukari ran and ran until she stopped in front of a large pond, a thick fog rolling in. "Who cares." Yukari said, sniffling. From the fog she heard three sets of footsteps, turning to see the class president and his lackeys approaching. Raising her wand in self-defense the three smiled menacingly. "Well well well, if it ain't the little witch bitch all alone. And so far away from the school grounds. Now, this presents a special situation doesn't it boys?" The president said looking at the two students to his right and left who nodded their heads and chuckled. Immediately the three transformed into three large lizardmen. "Hey, you're not allowed to reveal your monster form on campus." Yukari protested. The president chuckled once more, "Look around runt, we're off campus now. That means you're dead meat!" He yelled as he charged forward. Yukari tried to cast a spell but the larger lizardman lunged forward and chomped on her wand, shattering it. Spitting the pieces out he turned to the leader, "Gross, I think I need to cleanse my palate with something a bit more tender." He said as the three lizardmen loomed over her, looking at her hungrily. The leader raised his clawed hand once more and shouted as he went to slash down at the defenseless girl, "Die!" Before his blow could land she was tackled out of the way by someone she didn't recognize. Upon landing, she looked up and saw that it was Gabriel who saved her. She immediately started beating on his chest in protest. "No get off me, I'd rather die than be saved by you!" Yukari protested. Gabriel smiled at her, "Sorry, but I'd rather not see you get torn to shreds." Gabriel said as he groaned in pain. When he dove to get Yukari out of the way he took the brunt of the attack, receiving three long gashes along his back. Yukari stopped her assault and immediately felt regretful for how she treated him. "Well, this is just too good. I was hoping to run into you again. Looks like we're eating good tonight." The president cackled. Gabriel rose to his feet, giving Yukari full view of the long cuts on his back. She covered her mouth as she saw blood pour from his wounds. "If you're so hungry, why don't I ram my fist down your throats?" Gabriel taunted as he summoned the Shadow Whip. "Looks like you've got some tricks up your sleeves. But there is three of us and one of you and you're not looking too good." The chubby lizard said. **"He's right, you're losing a lot of blood. You can't keep fighting forever."** The voice said. _"I'm well aware of that. I just hope that losing all this blood will draw Moka close. Just gotta stall them until then." Gabriel responded mentally. "Stay behind me Yukari, this'll be over before you know it."_ Gabriel said confidently, smiling back at Yukari to reassure her. However, Yukari wasn't stupid she knew he was bluffing but she knew that without her wand she couldn't do anything. Gabriel looked back and forth between the three, taking note of their positioning, as they spread out to surround the two of them. "Rush him!" The leader commanded, the three lizardmen charging forward at the same time. Gabriel swung the whip in a wide area in front of him, stunning the three from the sudden impact. Shifting his attention to the closest one, the skinnier of the three, he struck down on him with heavy blows forcing him to the ground. The president recovering from his daze he lunged in again, Gabriel stood his ground and grabbed the president's outstretched arm and threw him to the ground behind him. The largest lizard came barreling towards Gabriel, noticing his noticeable lack of speed Gabriel lashed out to slow him down. The large lizard charged through the flurry of attacks and tackled Gabriel to the ground, salivating as he sat on top of him. "Time to eat!" He exclaimed as he went to chomp down on Gabriel. Quickly, Gabriel redirected the bite with his right hand and started repeatedly punching the lizard in the head. The lizard recoiled from the constant blows to the head and Gabriel used this instance to plant his feet squarely on his chest and push away. Rolling back he rested quickly on his knee and looked up as the three lizards regrouped. His vision began to blur from the blood loss and he began to feel dizzy. "Moka, Kurumu, if either of you are waiting in the bushes to jump out and save the day. I'd appreciate the assist right about now." Gabriel said to no one in particular. Yukari could see Gabriel was beginning to fatigue from his wounds, _"Why isn't he transforming?"_ She thought to herself. "Boys, distract that punk. I'm gonna chow down on that little witch." The president commanded as he looked hungrily over towards Yukari who met his gaze with one of fear. "Well come on, I can take all nine of you." Gabriel said as his vision began to worsen. "Split up, great idea Gabriel." He thought to himself. The president dashed forward, heading straight for Yukari while his cronies moved in on Gabriel. Adrenaline began to pump, as Gabriel briefly caught his second wind. He dodged out of the way of the two lizards and before anyone could react he struck. The president stood over Yukari, unmoving. Everyone was still except for Gabriel who stood in front of Yukari. The president looked down in disbelief and horror.

Gabriel plunged his right arm through the president's chest, straight out through the back. The clawed gauntlet tore through his scales and flesh like a spear. The president coughed blood onto Gabriel's face as Gabriel extracted his arm from the president's chest, leaving a gaping hole clear through the president's body. The president stumbled back before collapsing without a word, blood pooling around him. "Prez!" The other two shouted in horror. They looked at their slain leader's still body and over to his killer. Gabriel's face covered in blood and for a small instant, they swear they could see his eyes change to a blood-red. They saw what felt like centuries of hate and rage in those eyes, they saw a true monster. The two screamed in fear and stumbled over each other to get away from Gabriel. Yukari was unable to process what happened, it all happened so fast. The president was almost upon her then suddenly Gabriel had darted in front of her. It was over in what felt like an instant. She too was afraid of how easily Gabriel dispatched of his enemy and with such brutality.

Gabriel fell to his knees and looked at his hands, they were shaking. His breathing grew haggard and panicked, he felt the blood run down his face. He felt sick, he didn't know how to react. He knew that if the fight kept going both of them would have died but he didn't mean to kill him. He didn't think, he just acted without thought. His panic turned to horror as he heard two familiar voices approach. He wanted them to turn and leave, why did they have to find him now. "Hey Gabe we saw the other two runoff, must have scared them really good what happen-" Kurumu said before cutting herself off as she and Moka saw the scene in front of them. Gabriel, on his knees with blood covering his face and the still body of a lizardman, laying in its own blood. He looked up at his two friends, scared. "I didn't-I didn't mean to." Gabriel said weakly as he collapsed forward from the blood loss, the adrenaline that kept him conscious finally fading. His friends rushed to his side as he fell and saw his own injuries. "Gabriel!" Moka shouted as they knelt down next to the unconscious Gabriel.

The next thing Gabriel knew he was in a room he was all to familiar with, the infirmary. "Great, back here again." He groaned as he sat up, his chest wrapped in bandages. They served as a reminder as to what happened. He couldn't delude himself by passing it all off as a bad dream, he killed someone today. He looked out the window and saw that it was already night time. "How long was I out?" He asked to himself. Soft breathing pulled his attention away from the window and to the bedside. Moka was asleep in a chair next to him, glad to see her he went to wake her. But, he recoiled and clenched his fist tightly. He wanted to slip away, he knew what she would want to talk about if she woke up and he didn't know if he could handle that right now. He shifted to the side of the bed closest to the window, but as he sat on the edge of the bed he heard movement behind him and he froze and shut his eyes tightly in the vain hope that this all would go away and he'd just wake up back home. Moka opened her eyes and noticed that Gabriel was up and about but he felt distant. She crawled across the bed and sat on her knees right behind Gabriel. She looked over his bandaged back and wanted to offer some kindness to ease his heart. She didn't know how he'd responded, so she did nothing but sit there and waited until he was ready to talk.

The two teens sat in silence for an agonizingly long time. "Is Yukari alright?" Gabriel asked, trying his hardest to avoid THAT topic. "Mmhm, she got home safe. Kurumu escorted her back to her dorm while I brought you here." Moka explained. "Really? She let you have me all to yourself?" Gabriel asked with a hint of dry wit. "She was here a little while ago to check up on you. You've been out for a few hours." Moka responded, "Listen I-" Moka began but Gabriel shut her down. "I don't want to talk about it. Go home, get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." Gabriel said. Moka rested her head on his back and put her hand on his shoulder. "Not a chance. I don't care if you don't want to talk about, I'm staying right here with you. I'm not gonna let this just eat away at you." Moka said, expressing her concern. Gabriel looked back and raised his right hand, summoning the Shadow Whip. "What if I made you leave?" Gabriel threatened, his eyes were dark and deathly serious. Moka hesitated only briefly but she refused to budge, "I'm not afraid. I know this is hard for you and I couldn't imagine what it's like to have that on your heart. But, I won't let you bear that alone." She said, "I should have stuck up for you and maybe none of this would have happened. So if anything, I have to accept responsibility for this." Moka said with a hint of sadness in her voice as she ran her hand across his bandages. "You're my greatest friend and I let you get hurt again. Because of my actions." Moka explained as she turned away from Gabriel. "Yukari was wrong, it's not you who doesn't deserve me. I don't deserve you as my friend." Moka lamented. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes but before she could get up she felt two arms wrap around her stomach from behind and hold her tightly. "Don't ever say that." Gabriel said, his voice quivering as Moka felt teardrops hit her shoulder. "Don't you ever say that again." Gabriel repeated. Gabriel released his hold and Moka turned to face him. This was the first time she had seen him cry, the first time she had seen him this vulnerable. "I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. You've looked out for me since day one, you easily could have turned me over and I would have been a goner." Gabriel said, "You watched over me not knowing if I would have woken up at all. So don't you ever think you're anything less than amazing."

He placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears. Moka blushed when she heard the sincerity in his voice and when she felt the tenderness of his touch. "Gabriel." She said as the two locked eyes. They stared intensely into each other's eyes. Gabriel shifted his gaze down, feeling ashamed of himself. "I just wish I could say the same thing about myself." Gabriel said. "I think you're pretty amazing." Moka said sheepishly. "I'm a murderer, Moka." Gabriel quickly stated. Moka simply shook her head in disagreement, "You're not a murderer. You did what you had to do to save someone else's life. Yukari would have ended up another victim if you hadn't stepped in." Moka explained. "That hardly makes me feel better. It was still wrong for me to do what I did." Gabriel responded. "Gabriel, look at me," Moka said and she made Gabriel look her in the eye. "You are not a bad person. You didn't do that because that's just the kind of person you are. I know you." She said while resting her hand on Gabriel's chest, "I know your heart. You are brave, selfless, and kind. You threw yourself against an enemy you had no chance of beating for me. You protected Kurumu from my other self after she intended to use you as a slave. You shielded Yukari, who hated you, from being harmed. You are not just some murderer and you're not a thug. You're a hero in my eyes, a protector, and I trust you with all my heart and I know you will never let me down." Moka decreed. "Moka, I'm not particularly religious but I'd swear you were an angel." Gabriel said, putting on a half-smile.

The two embraced, Gabriel, feeling his burden eased but not completely gone. "You're also a total softie." Moka jokingly said which made Gabriel chuckle a bit. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Moka asked as the two broke their embrace. Gabriel blinked at her in confusion, "Yeah, I guess so." Gabriel responded. Moka looked away and fidgeted a bit. "When I was carrying you back here you were still bleeding a lot. I had to really struggle to control myself from-" Moka explained as Gabriel smiled and tilted his head to the side. "Go ahead." Gabriel sighed, readying himself. Moka sprang forward gleefully, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Moka exclaimed as she bit his neck and began to drain his blood. After she finished she sealed the wound closed she slipped off the bed, licking her lips, sporting her usual smile. "As always your blood is the best, so yummy!" She exclaimed. Gabriel rubbed his neck, "Yeah, lucky me. I suppose I should thank you for not drinking me dry while you patched me up." He said turning his head and looking outside, "It's a little late isn't it. Too dark to walk back, plus my school shirt and jacket got all torn up. Looks like I'll be spending the night here. I am getting too familiar with this bed." Gabriel said to himself before turning back to Moka, "Do you think you can make it home alright?" He asked. Moka sat herself down in the chair where she was sleeping earlier, "Nope, I said I was staying right here so that's what I'm doing." She said. Seeing her this stubborn was a bit amusing, almost like she was trying to act like her inner self. "So you're gonna sleep in that chair?" Gabriel asked while looking down at where she was sitting. "Well, I wasn't about to climb into bed with you. So I guess I am." She responded. Gabriel sighed, "No, no you are not. I'll take the chair, you can sleep in the bed." He said while getting up. "But you're hurt, I couldn't possibly make you sleep in a chair while you're hurt." Moka protested, but Gabriel stood over her and nodded over the bed. "Not asking, lay down. I'll survive." Gabriel said sternly. Moka looked away and blushed, "Fine, but could you turn around first?" She asked, Gabriel, compiled and turned around. Moka reached underneath her chair and retrieved a small duffel bag. Unzipping it she pulled out a white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Quickly she removed her school uniform, blushing madly. She had planned for Gabriel to still be asleep when she changed but now he was right in front of her. Gabriel looked down to see Moka's skirt laying the ground, "Wait?! You're changing?! Why the hell did you not tell me to just leave the room?!" Gabriel asked in a flustered and panicked voice. Moka's face grew redder, "I didn't think! Don't look I'll be quick!" Moka exclaimed as she hurriedly changed and flew under the covers. "Okay, I'm done." She quickly said. Gabriel slumped down into the chair and looked over at Moka who was hiding under the covers, "Please don't do that again." He implored as he tried to relax into the chair. Moka peeked out of the covers, "Are you sure you'll be fine in the chair? I can scoot over." Moka suggested. "No. We are not doing that. If someone walks in we'll have a lot of questions to answer and I'd rather not deal with that. Let's just go to sleep and forget about all this." Gabriel said as he closed his eyes. "Alright, good night Gabriel." Moka said trying to hide her embarrassment. "'Night, Moka" He responded as sleep quickly took hold of him.

Gabriel was the first one to wake up, his back aching from such an uncomfortable sleeping position. "Jeez, maybe I should have taken her up on her offer." He groaned as he stretched. A plastic bag, that hadn't been there the night before, caught his attention. He walked over to it as it sat on a small stand. Attached was a note, _"Heard you got caught in a bit of a scuffle. I brought you a change of clothes and made sure to lock the door on my way out. Behave yourself now. -Yoko"_ Gabriel quickly scowled as he crumpled up the note and tossed into the waste bin. "That's exactly what I was afraid of." He said while beginning to remove his bandages. Moka slowly opened her eyes to see Gabriel standing with his upper body exposed. She found herself looking over his body, "He really does take care of himself." She thought to herself. She had seen him yesterday but the bandages and shredded remains of his uniform distracted her from his athletic physique. Her gaze focused on the three long scars on his back, astounded by how quickly they had healed. "You do know that it's impolite to stare, right?" Gabriel inquired as he turned back to Moka who tried to hide the fact that she was staring at him. "I-I wasn't staring I just woke up and and you happened to be right there" She quickly said trying avoid his gaze. He simply smiled as he pulled out a white undershirt from the bag and slipped it on. "I'll just be a second, I can leave so you can get changed. I'd rather avoid that whole fiasco from last night." Gabriel said while putting on his dress shirt. He had barely finished buttoning his shirt when he heard a knock on the door. "I swear Yoko if that's you." He grumbled to himself as he walked to the door. Unlocking and sliding the door open he was met by nothing until he looked down and saw Yukari standing there, hat in hand. Yukari looked up in surprise, she didn't expect him to be up and about so early, "Oh, Gabriel you're up! I thought you'd be resting." Yukari said surprised. "I would but my bed seems to be a bit occupied." He said while thumbing back towards Moka who was sitting up in bed. "Hey Yukari, good morning." Moka said as she swung her legs over to the side of the bed. "Wait...did you two-" Yukari began to ask but Gabriel was quick to shut her down. "No! No we did no-" He tried to explain before Yukari cut him off, "Without me?!" She asked with a distinct tone of jealousy. "Excuse me what?" Gabriel asked as she darted into the room, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to Moka. "After yesterday I've decided that it's not just Moka I want, I want both of you. Preferably at the same time." Yukari stated as she winked at Gabriel. "Hold on pause. Big pause. Could you explain what you're talking about?" Gabriel asked, clearly lost. "Well I already love Moka and after yesterday when you tackled me to the ground and held me in your big strong arms I didn't feel like a little kid anymore. I wouldn't mind him being rough like with me again. Plus he went so far to protect me, I was a little scared at first but then I realized how far he was willing to go for my sake." Yukari perversely explained, causing both Moka and Gabriel to blush madly. _"What the fuck?!"_ Gabriel thought to himself. "Uh Yukari, this isn't what it looks like. Gabriel didn't sleep in the same bed, he slept in the chair and I slept in the bed." Moka explained which made Yukari look at Gabriel with a confused look. "You chose to sleep in a chair when you could have slept next to a beautiful and smart girl like Moka?" Yukari asked. "As a matter of fact I did. Plus that bed isn't that big so I doubt there would have been much room for the both of us." Gabriel pointed out. "That's even better!" Yukari exclaimed. "I am speechless right now." Gabriel said, this entire situation just left him confused. He slipped on his school jacket and retreated out of the room. "Well Moka I'll let you get dressed, you uh...you have fun with that." Gabriel said as he took off down the hallway. "Unreal, there's another one and why did she have to be a kid. Chris Hansen is gonna be knocking down my door." He groaned.

"Are you sure he can use the whip?" A voice asked. Yoko peered into a mirror but reflected in the mirror was not her, but a pale man with long white hair. He stared back with piercing yellow eyes. "Alucard, I know the wounds that weapon can inflict. Unless he put a hole in that lizard by some other means." Yoko explained. The man folded his hands and sighed heavily, "So he has access to the Shadow Whip. This is troubling news. I would have hoped to have spoken with the boy before his powers manifested." Alucard said, he paused briefly and then shifted his gaze to Yoko. "What of the Chaos and Void powers? Have they manifested yet?" He asked. She shook her head, "No not yet. I would have sensed the magical traces of them. But Alucard, he's made friends with a vampire." Yoko said with a hint of urgency. "I'm not aware of the vampire clans in Japan. Do you know what species of vampire?" Alucard asked trying to understand the full situation. "As far as I can tell she isn't of demonic or human origin, I'm not absolutely certain yet but she may have been born a vampire. She has no problems with the sunlight beside minor irritation and doesn't possess the ability to shapeshift. However, she does possess superhuman strength when her seal is undone." Yoko elaborated. The mention of a seal caught Alucard's attention, "Seal? What do you mean by that?" He inquired. "She has rosary around her neck, a silver cross with a red gem in the center. Usually, she had pink hair and green eyes but when the rosary is removed her appearance changes. Her eyes turn red and her hair changes to a silver color. More than her appearance it would seem that her abilities are increased and she gains a much more aggressive personality It would seem that she cannot remove the seal on her own. When she was being attacked she didn't try to remove the rosary, however, Gabriel was able to remove it with ease." Yoko explained. "Interesting, I have no knowledge on such a seal. The archives of the Brotherhood have no records on such a thing. Is there anything else notable to report?" Alucard asked. "Nothing else, I haven't talked to Gabriel yet about the death of that student. If he responds how I hope he will then we have nothing to fear from that." Yoko stated, "But, I would advise you hurry along and get here before thing progress further than they already have. I worry that the dangerous conditions here may awaken his powers before he is able to properly handle them." Yoko pleaded. "I am trying to find a way to slip into the academy unnoticed. Unlike you, my status as the son of Dracula makes things difficult. My father was the one being who was feared by both worlds, they blame him for the outbreak of feral monsters. They believe that when Satan was killed that the essence of the fallen angel corrupted the minds of many denizens of the monster world, driving them mad. Certainly, his son would not be welcomed despite our history. I will find a guise to enter the academy but until then keep a close eye on him." Alucard said as the mirror returned to Yoko's reflection, "Asshole, could have at least said goodbye." She huffed, "Oh, Gabriel why did it have to be you?" Yoko lamented as she turned away from the mirror.


	6. Stress Relief

Gabriel yelled out at he pummeled another possessed suit of armor into the ground, cracking the stone floor. He started to breathe heavily as he crouched down in the middle of about a dozen of other suits of armor that were all in similar conditions.

 **"I thought it was strange that you would ask to come here. I had assumed that you wanted to train your skills more."** The voice said in a somewhat disappointed tone. Gabriel caught his breath and stood up scowling as he responded.

"Of course I wanted to train more. Why else would I come here?" Gabriel asked defensively. The voice let out a low chuckle which made Gabriel grimace more.

 **"I am not so foolish that I cannot tell when someone is acting out of emotion. Your movements were sloppy and unfocused. Something troubles you, boy."** The voice pointed out. Gabriel dispelled the Shadow Whip and crossed his arms. **"This is not the place to be distracted, what troubles you?"** The voice asked with a hint of concern.

Gabriel had requested that he be taken to the strange place in his dream. He asked the voice if it were possible to take him there. The voice agreed under the pretense that Gabriel had wanted to further improve himself. But during their training, Gabriel seemed more concerned with overpowering his combatants rather than his usual careful style of fighting. It wouldn't be hard to guess that Gabriel was using this a means to vent his frustration. But this wasn't like punching a pillow or counting to ten. In this place, Gabriel could easily lose his life if he got careless.

"Talking with Moka made me feel better for a time but I can't get the look of that guy's face out of my mind. Hell, I don't even know the guy and I still see the fear in his eyes when I close mine." Gabriel said while clenching his fist tightly. The image still remained fresh in his mind despite his friends trying their best to put his mind at ease. The worst part was that he received no consequence for killing another student. He was told that he innocent because it was self-defense and that action would be taken against the two students that followed along with the attempted murder of Yukari. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he thought about that fact.

 **"Boy, you did what you had to do. To protect that girl you had to take his life without hesitation. You had no choice."** The voice pointed out. Gabriel sighed and relaxed.

"There's always a choice." Gabriel said coldly. Before he could say more he heard a door open behind him. He turned and saw, for the first time, the moonlit sky. A cold wind blew through the large room where he currently stood. The voice seemingly had gone quiet for a time and he stepped towards the door. He shivered a bit when the frigid air touched his skin. His breath was visible in front of face as he stepped across the threshold.

He stood behind the railing of a balcony that overlooked a massive gothic-styled castle. The moon hung high in the sky, the pale light bathing the massive structure. Gabriel looked on in amazement at the sheer scale of this place. Now more than ever he questioned the possibility of a castle of this size being inside his head. Did this castle exist elsewhere in the world? Why could he not have the power over this place like the voice seemingly did? He ran his hand across the stone railing as he pondered these questions.

"I know you're still there. What is this place?" Gabriel asked as he stared out at the vast expanse of the castle.

 **"This place was once Bernhard Castle. The Bernhard Family was once a powerful and wealthy family. This castle stood as one of the finest castles in all of Europe. The Bernhards were driven from their home by the Dark Lord of the Vampires and former Lord of Shadow, Carmilla."** The voice explained. Gabriel leaned against the railing as he absorbed all the information.

"Lord of Shadow? What is that?" Gabriel asked, his curiosity piqued.

" **Hmm, to tell their story is tell another. The legend of the Lords of Shadow has been long since forgotten except by a select few. Tell me, boy. Did you ask your aunt about the Brotherhood of Light?"** The voice asked. Gabriel shook his head. **"The Brotherhood of Light once served as vanguards against the forces of darkness. Holy warriors in name only. The founders; Carmilla, Cornell, and Zobek-"** The spat out the last name in a clear sign of disdain, **"Took it upon themselves to transcend from this earthly plain and ascend into heavenly bodies. However, they did not consider what they would leave behind. Indeed that had become beings of pure light but they did not count on leaving behind beings of pure darkness. What was left on earth became the Lords of Shadow. Cornell became the Lord of Werewolves, Carmilla became the Lord of Vampires, and Zobek became the Lord of Necromancers. Together they terrorized the people they had once fought to protect, ironic."** The voice mused. While Gabriel walked along the railing, his hand tracing alongside the railing. How did this voice know about this history that allegedly was lost to time and how did it have the power to bring them to a castle that's supposedly in Europe?

"If what you say is true, then we're currently in Europe. But that's not possible. So how is it that you can bring me here?" Gabriel asked while crossing his arms. In such a short amount of time, his entire life had been turned on its head. He hoped that getting some answers would help him find his footing but for every answered question two more began to trouble him.

 **"You would be right to assume that. Indeed, this castle was once located in Europe but this castle, as you see it now, is not how it is now. I'm sure you're aware of Castlevania City."** The voice said. Gabriel nodded while continuing to drink in the surroundings.

"Who wouldn't be, one of the largest terror attacks in history. It's not every day a city of that size is quarantined and shut off to the rest of the world. The place is practically the largest mass grave in the world." Gabriel said which made the voice chuckle slightly.

 **"If that is what you believe. But that city was built on the foundations of this castle."** The voice stated which made Gabriel stop dead in his tracks as he was once again blindsided from what he was told.

"Then how are we here? If the city was built on the ruins then how are we standing in what looks like a mostly pristine castle?" Gabriel asked while waiting for a clarification.

 **"The details are complicated but I assume the best way to explain it would be that what we are standing in is a separate dimensional plane. A place brought to life by memories and a curse."** The voice explained. Gabriel reached a closed door and pushed on it to no avail.

"Memories? Your memories I assume. Who are you?" Gabriel asked as he removed his hand from the door.

 **"Once the lord of this castle. Its lord and its prisoner. I can say no more. It is time for you to wake up."** The voice said. Before Gabriel could protest found himself darting up in bed.

Gabriel cursed to himself once the sunlight hit his face. He was starting to get fed up with cryptic answers and secrets. Thankfully the weekend had come for him to unwind a bit. He slipped out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants. Slipping them on he began to stretch he felt his back crack which made him exhale sharply. Fishing a tank top from his drawer pulled it over his head and set out to get ready for the day. Once he finished combing his hair he sat on his bed and put on a pair of tennis shoes. He decided that it would be best if he started exercising regularly if the last few weeks had been an indicator as to what was coming. He would need to be faster, stronger, and sharper if he was going to survive future attacks. He felt lucky that so far most the fights he's been in had been over with quickly and with relative ease. But, if he were put in a situation with Yukari he didn't know if he'd make it out again. Certainly, if he were quick enough to block the claw strike the was meant for Yukari he would never have been put in the situation where he would have had to kill. It became a priority for him to ensure that he'd never be put in that situation again.

He stepped outside and began jogging along the path he had laid out prior. Hopefully, this new exercise routine would help him take his mind off of the events of a few days ago. As he was running he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him. He kept his eyes out for whoever might be in the shadows just in case someone wanted to ambush him. Despite his vigilance, he could not seem to find the possible culprit. He tried to push those thoughts out of his head. After all, this was meant to help him relax not stress him out further. A few minutes into his run still couldn't shake the feeling so he turned a corner quickly to break sight on whoever might have been watching. He quickly ducked behind a nearby bush to lie in wait to see if his suspicions were valid. He would not be disappointed because as soon as he hid, three male students came creeping along. He initially thought that they were trying to ambush him and was prepared to fight. But, on further inspection, he noticed that they were kinda wimpy looking. One was relatively normal looking with short brown hair, one was tall and lanky with unkempt hair and glasses, the last one was overweight with blonde hair. They wore the usual white button-up dress shirts with khaki pants. In addition, they all sported pink jackets with writing on them. Gabriel took a second to read them before realizing how silly it was to think they were a threat. They read, "Moka is my life" which was worn by the most normal looking of the bunch, "Yukari is my life" which was worn by the tallest one, and "Kurumu is my life" which was worn by the overweight one.

"What a bunch of creeps." Gabriel said as he stepped out from his hiding spot. He stood behind the three with his arms crossed. "Who the hell are you guys and why are you following me?" Gabriel asked which made the three jump. The three of them jumped back and began to pose enthusiastically while introducing themselves.

"I am Kozo Kasahara of the Moka Akashiya Fan Club!" The brown haired one exclaimed emphatically. From his demeanor, he seemed to be the leader of this merry little band.

"I am Kubasaki Nagai of the Yukari Sendo Fan Club!" The tall one said proudly. For whatever reason, this one creeped Gabriel out the most.

"I am Bosaburo Taira of the Kurumu Kurono Fan Club!" The overweight one exclaimed. The dramatic posing seemly have tired him out a bit.

"And together we are the Fan Club Coalition!" The three said simultaneously. Gabriel had the sneaky suspicion that these three were not the most graceful social butterflies.

Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes. He really did not want to have to deal with this crap right now. He didn't really want to fight any of these guys, he'd just feel bad. He elected to play along for a bit in hopes that they'd go away.

"Didn't answer my second question. Why are you following me?" Gabriel asked once more advancing towards the three menacingly. Which made them step back a bit.

"Isn't it obvious?!" The leader said stepping forward. "We're sick you hogging our goddesses to yourself! It's because of you that we're aren't with our beloved goddesses!" Kozo accused. Which made Gabriel burst out into laughter much to the coalition's chagrin. Gabriel composed himself and exhaled sharply.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm not laughing at you." Gabriel clarified, "I'm laughing at how stupid you sound. It's not my fault your goddesses aren't falling into your arms. If my intuition is right, and just from looking at you three you all seem like walking clichés, you're a bunch of stalkers. You idolize the girl you know you can't have so you creep around and take pictures of them for your weird fantasies. That sound about right?" Gabriel asked. He hoped that if he deconstructed them they would leave him alone. But no such luck, as the three stood firm in their belief that it was Gabriel who had stood in their way and denied them the love of their three goddesses, a love they were sure would be reciprocated.

"You're wrong! You don't deserve to just have the most beautiful girl handed to you with no effort at all. We try so hard but we still can't get girlfriends. But, when we get rid of you we'll finally have our chance!" Kozo exclaimed. The three tried to make themselves look intimidating. "Now get ready to face our fearsome fan club wrath!" He yelled out as they all produced plastic megaphones.

"Listen, I've been having a bad week. Like a really bad week and I rather not take out my frustration on you three. Get out of here and we'll have no problem." Gabriel said with a confident smile on his face, "But if this is really what you want to do then I can guarantee that you'll lose and the girls will just have to hear a little tidbit about their little stalkers and their names." He threatened. The coalition looked at each other as if to silently discuss the possibility to each other but they all turned back and charged Gabriel. "Last chance before I make you all eat dirt." He warned but they ignored him and clumsily swung at him.

Dodging their wild swings with their plastics megaphones felt like child's play compared to what he trained against. They were slow and sloppy, they posed no challenge to someone like Gabriel. The three cursed to themselves with each failed attempt to hit the agile Gabriel. Gabriel continued to toy with the three by dodging and redirecting to their wild attempts to strike him right into each other. Kozo was the first to recover and he charged once more straight at Gabriel who met him swiftly with a punch to the nose. Kozo quickly covered his face as his nose began to bleed and his eyes began to water. He yelled out in pain and fell to his knees. Kubasaki and Bosaburo grabbed Kozo and began to retreat.

"You haven't heard the last of us, Morris!" The three yelled out as they ran away.

"I don't doubt that at all." Gabriel said crossing his arms and smirking. He felt a bit better after this little scuffle. Though he felt a modicum of sympathy for the three, they weren't bad people they were just socially awkward. But, he wasn't about to let them beat up on him because he felt bad for them.

"Hey, sweetie! How are you!" A cheery voice said from behind Gabriel. He turned to face it and say that it was Yoko who had come strolling up. Gabriel returned a warm smile towards his aunt.

"I'm fine, how are you." Gabriel responded politely. He had seen his aunt only briefly in the past few days and that was when she had told him that no consequence would be taken against him. She knew enough to give Gabriel some space after what had happened.

"Augh, soooo busy. I swear men of any species are some of the messiest and most irresponsible creatures on the planet." Yoko lamented, clearly being overwhelmed by the constant piles of paperwork being sent her way to keep the residential areas in check. Certainly a hard enough job on its own but throwing monsters into the mix too definitely made her job a lot more overwhelming. "Oh Gabriel my darling, long-lost nephew could you do me a teeny tiny little favor?" Yoko asked innocently.

"I am not doing your work for you." Gabriel said firmly. Yoko certainly had a childish side to her. He can see that despite her well-kept appearance she did not like being swamped down with paperwork, which he could understand. But, for as much as she did not like doing office work, Gabriel was willing to bet that he hated it even more.

"Come oooooon. Please?" Yoko pleaded, vocalizing her displeasure with her workload. "It's just a teeny bit of paperwork, all you gotta do it stamp some papers." She tried explaining, clearly underselling the amount of work she was trying to push off onto her nephew.

"I just don't think so. Besides I have a busy schedule today." Gabriel said. He was lying, of course, but he couldn't let his aunt know that or else she might try to guilt trip him into helping her. Quickly thinking he tried to find an excuse before quickly thinking up one. "After I'm done exercising Yukari is helping me study. My scores on my last exams weren't where I wanted them to be so I'm getting a little extra help from her." Gabriel quickly explained. Yoko looked at him accusingly waiting to see if his face would tell if he was lying or not but Gabriel held firm under her harsh gaze. She ceased her assault and went back to her normal cheery expression.

"Well alright, I'll let you off the hook this once because you're focusing on your studies. Anyways that wasn't what I came here for." Yoko said which made Gabriel look at her quizzically. He asked her what she wanted. "Well, I wanted to talk about what happened with the class president of class 2, Tadashi Wanibuchi." She explained. Gabriel finally knew the name of the man he killed, truthfully he didn't want to know.

"Should have known this was coming." Gabriel said with a heavy sigh, "Fine, what do you want to talk about?" Gabriel reluctantly asked. Yoko gestured down the path she came from and the two began to walk side by side.

"Gabriel, I'm not going to sit here and recite the same platitudes you've heard already. You're a smart kid, I know that you know that what you did was necessary to save Yukari." Yoko said while looking forward, "I want you to know that I understand your pain." She continued which caught Gabriel's attention.

"Wait are you saying that you've killed someone?" Gabriel asked. Both of them stopped and turned to each other. Yoko put her hands on Gabriel's shoulders and looked into her nephew's eyes.

"I remember my apprehension the first time I killed someone. It was a young werewolf who had decided to lay waste to a remote Romanian village. So many lives had been lost in his wake and I was sent in to handle the situation." Yoko began to explain as she recalled to that painful memory, "I could tell the werewolf was young because he was wild and erratic. My training allowed me to easily overcome him but I was not ready to deal with the consequences of fulfilling my duties. When he turned back into his human form I was horrified to see that he was no older than fourteen at best." She seemed to mourn internally as she thought back to it. "After that, I couldn't sleep for weeks. The others didn't seem to understand why I was so distraught. Eventually, I understood that because of our responsibilities we had to the ones to bear these burdens for those who could not. We take on the role of protector but that also means we have to bear all the scars as well." She said.

"I never asked for these responsibilities. I just want to be a normal high school student." Gabriel lamented. Yoko understood his reaction, it was a reaction she had seen in her sister.

"Given the choice, I don't think many would choose any of this. Fate, however, rarely gives us a choice. It's best we don't try and focus on the things that we cannot change but accept them as part of us and move on. I know it sounds heartless to say that but it's true. If we allow our past to haunt us then we will ultimately lose ourselves in it." Yoko said almost as a warning. Yoko hugged her nephew, "It's okay to feel these feelings. The fact that it bothers you so much shows so much about your character. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people so willing to take a life under the guise of the greater good. You understand the ramifications of taking a life and I know you see it as a last resort." She said, "So please, if not for yourself, then for me, try to put this behind you. All you'll do it end hurting yourself and I don't want any family of mine to suffer when I could have done something." She stated. For as childish as she can be sometimes, it was clear that Yoko cared deeply for her family even for her nephew who she only knew for about a month.

Yoko gave her nephew smile that was different than her usual bright and happy smile. This one was reassuring, almost saying that he would be alright. Gabriel nodded his head as he knew that he needed to let this go. Holding onto the guilt would only drag him down and eventually, he would let guys like the coalition beat up on him as penance. Yoko made Gabriel promise to come to her if he needed someone to talk to about these things, to which Gabriel agreed. The two parted ways and just for a bit, Gabriel felt lighter.

" **For one so young she is indeed quite wise. Heed her counsel, boy. Fate is cruel, best not to face it alone."** The voice said, admiring Yoko's words.

"Yeah she's something, isn't she? I'm glad she's here." Gabriel said. He appreciated the presence of family. There was something about her that made Gabriel feel at ease. Maybe it was that she reminded Gabriel so much of his own mother. Just looking at Yoko reminded him so much of his mother and even their attitudes were similar. You could tell the two were sisters. Despite his tough attitude Gabriel always was a bit of a momma's boy, though he would never admit it.

He went on to finish his run and returned back to the boy's dorm. Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari were all waiting for him by the entrance. The three of them came rushing over when they saw him approach. The all greeted Gabriel in their usual way. Moka was polite, Kurumu was flirty, Yukari was energetic. They had all individually planned to take Gabriel out on a picnic to raise his spirits. Unfortunately, they had all arrived simultaneously and had to come to the compromise of all of them going. Gabriel excused himself so he could take a quick shower before they left. Kurumu, of course, offered to accompany him and was swiftly shot down by Gabriel. Yukari started thinking about her dear Gabriel showering and her face quickly exposed her inappropriate thoughts to the rest of the group.

"Gabriel is looking a lot better don't you guys think?" Moka mused. All week Gabriel felt distant despite him trying to assure them he was fine. They all tried their best to him but they could tell it did little to help. He wasn't completely out of it but he definitely wasn't his usual self.

"Yeah, he's not as down in the dumps. What do you think happened?" Kurumu asked. The three of them hadn't the slightest clue.

"Who knows? We should just be grateful we got our Gabriel back." Yukari said crossing her arms. A few moments later Gabriel returned wearing a pair of dark pants, black tennis shoes, and a red jacket with a dark blue shirt underneath. He looked different than he did for the past week. His face seemed to light up with the sun and his eyes were a brilliant blue. The three girls were almost lost in his noble appearance.

"What?" Gabriel asked, "Is there something on my face?" He rubbed his face to find whatever they were staring at. The three of them broke from their trance and tried to play it off as nothing more than them being glad he was back to normal.

They went off to find a spot to sit down and enjoy their picnic. After walking for a bit they found an opening with a few of the blood-red sea that seemed to extend out as far as the eye can see. The girls bickered about which sheet they should sit on, it was then Gabriel realized that this did not originate as a group outing. Gabriel suggested that they simply lay them all out so they had plenty of room because it looked like they would have plenty of food. The picnic was enjoyable, each of them trying to feed Gabriel a bit of the food they had each individually prepared. Unfortunately, their fun would be interrupted when three familiar voices rang out.

The fan club coalition stood together, Kozo now wearing a bandage over his nose. The girls looked at each other in confusion while Gabriel stood up from their picnic area. The coalition lamented that they were not the ones eating with their goddesses. Quickly, their attention snapped back to Gabriel. Again, Kozo was the first to speak up.

"This is the last straw, hanging out with our goddesses is bad enough but now you're having a romantic picnic with all three of them?!" Kozo shouted. The girls were bewildered by the display of outrage from this student. "It's time we make you pay for real!" He continued which made Gabriel smirk in amusement.

The three members of the coalition began to transform. Kozo turned into what looked like an umbrella with eyes and mouth, Kubasaki's neck began to extend into a long snake-like appendage, Bosaburo turned into a humanoid blob-like creature. Gabriel looked back at his friends who shared a look of embarrassment.

"Those are you monster forms?" Gabriel asked. He wasn't expecting much from these three but still, he was left dumbfounded by how lame their monster forms were.

"Now you're dissing us?! Dammit, we know we look pretty wimpy. Compared to the other badass monsters who go here we don't stand a chance with the ladies." Kozo said, frustrated with how goofy they looked. "But! We will be more than enough to take you down. Coalition! Assemble!" Kozo shouted as the three of them fused together into a hulking monster that had all the features of all of the members.

Gabriel looked back to Moka who nodded at him, he snatched the rosary from her neck. Moka unleashed her inner power and transformed into her white-haired self. The other girls stood ready for a fight. Moka walked next to Gabriel looked at the towering foe before them.

"Looks like you've stopped moping around." Moka said. She had been able to see Gabriel's behavior through the other Moka's eyes. She could see the contrast between then and now.

"Yeah. Good to see you too, spooky." He responded looking at Moka with a confident smirk. She responded by crossing her arms and glaring at the fused monster.

"Woah look at her! She's a vampire!" The monster said in a booming voice. He ogled Moka with a lustful stare which repulsed her.

Gabriel went to summon the Shadow Whip but then he felt a power well up inside himself. He let out a fierce yell as his arm burst into flames that covered his forearms in a similar style to the gauntlet of the Shadow Whip. Everyone looked in amazement at the sudden manifestation of this ability, Gabriel most of all. The fire didn't burn, but he could feel the intense heat the fiery claws gave off.

"Since when can you do that?" Kurumu asked. Gabriel had no clue but had a feeling of what they were good for, smashing. The towering monster seemed almost scared by this development.

"I guess since just now. Suppose I should give em a test run." Gabriel said while looking back to the enemy before them.

Gabriel slammed his fists together as he began his assault. Moka followed next to him and together the two of them avoided the lumbering monster's attempts to smash them. The creature punched straight at Gabriel, but instead of dodging out of the way he caught the massive fist in his hands. He was astounded by the strength these claws had given him. He held on tight and signaled for Moka to attack. She planted a massive kick right into the creature from below and sent it into the sky. Gabriel let go as soon as the kick landed and ran towards Moka. He shouted for him to give him a boost, she clasped her hands together and launched Gabriel high into the sky. Kurumu flew up and grabbed him before diving down towards the creature and dropping Gabriel. He cocked his fist back and let out a battle shout as he landed a massive blow into the center of the creature. He drove it straight into the ground, leaving a large impact crater. The creature was knocked unconscious by the impact. The claws dissipated as soon as Gabriel stood on top of the defeated coalition. He looked at his hands and hopped down from the large monster. He landed on a loveseat that Yukari had conjured beneath him. He stood up from the loveseat and was immediately rushed by Yukari.

"That was so cool! You and Moka are the best!" Yukari exclaimed. Watching her two love interests fight together and defeat an enemy like that so quickly was amazing to see.

"To be fair, Kurumu helped too." Gabriel said while nodding to Kurumu who had just landed. Moka stepped up to Gabriel with a small grin on her face.

"Maybe I misjudged you, Morris. Looks like there's more to you than I thought." Moka remarked which caught everyone off guard.

"Everyone heard that right?" Gabriel asked, "Did she just compliment me?" He continued which made Moka roll her eyes. "Ah, there she is." He remarked as he handed back her rosary.

"So what was with those fiery fists of fury, Gabe?" Kurumu asked. Gabriel tried to call them forth again but he couldn't feel the power in him anymore. He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms.

"Not sure, for some reason I can't bring em out right now. I felt something deep inside me just explode. I could feel the overwhelming power in them, I felt so much stronger with them. Sucks I can't feel the power right now." Gabriel said while trying to feel inside himself for the power again. "Gimme a second, I want to try something." He said as he closed his eyes and reaching out to the voice.

" **The Chaos Claws, I am not surprised you awakened this power this soon. I could feel your rage and I assumed it was only a matter of time until their furious power was unleashed once more."** The voice mused. The name triggered what felt like a distant memory, it was faded and blurry like an out of focus camera. He saw a man dressed in a long crimson red cloak, he could hear the furious yells as he pummeled the stone walls of a familiar castle. Before he could see the man's face he was forcibly removed from the memory. **"Do not dwell there, boy."** The voice said clearly upset.

" _Fine, so why can't I feel the presence of these Chaos Claws now?"_ Gabriel asked mentally, _"With the Shadow Whip it was like flipping a switch on and off."_ He added. Whenever he used the Shadow Whip it was as easy as feeling it and then it would be there.

" **The Chaos Claws are not like the Shadow Whip. They are not a part of you like the Shadow Whip, they are fueled by Chaos Magic."** The voice explained. Gabriel had noticed that the Claws felt different than the Shadow Whip, they felt aggressive. **"The Chaos Claws are a powerful weapon, capable of shattering even the strongest of defenses. But you must focus yourself in order to use them. Channel your aggression and fury and you will feel their power once more. But be wary that your capacity to utilize the Chaos is limited at best. Over time your capacity to contain the Chaos power will increase with more training but as of now don't expect to use them for more than bursts at a time. A skilled warrior makes use of all his tools."** The voice lectured.

Gabriel was snapped out of his mental conversation by Kurumu who nudged his shoulder. He had been standing there with eyes closed for about a minute. Everyone gave him a curious look which made Gabriel blush a bit. He pushed through his embarrassment and told them to watch closely.

"Alright here goes nothing, focus." Gabriel told himself. He thought about the things that made him the angriest but still, he felt nothing. He strained and strained but no avail. Growing frustrated he yelled out in anger and at the same moment, the Chaos Claws burst to life once more. "Alright! I did it!" He cheered but he could feel the power fading quickly. He tried to hold onto the power but they quickly dissipated. "Guess he was right, damn that sucks." He lamented.

Moka observed closely as if trying to remember something important. Something felt familiar about Gabriel's new power. She thought about a story she was told as a child but could not recall the details. She decided it would be best if she took time to muse over this while she rested. She placed the rosary back in its place and transformed back into her pink-haired self. Gabriel quickly moved to catch her when she started to collapse. Soon after she opened her eyes and smiled, to which Gabriel responded in kind with a smile of his own. He apologized to his friends for ruining their picnic. He looked back at the ruined picnic area, shredded sheets and ruined baskets lay scattered all around. They all reassured him that it was fine and together they gathered what could and used the least shredded sheet as a makeshift trash bag. The others ahead of Gabriel, who lingered back a bit, they turned to ask him what was up. He told them to go and that he'd catch up. They looked at each other and headed back towards the dormitory.

Gabriel stood by the defeated monster that laid in the crater. At once the monster defused and the fan club members returned to their human forms. Gabriel knelt over the three of them as they laid in a crumpled heap. Kozo looked up in disgust and wondered if he stayed behind to gloat about his victory over them.

"Listen, guys." Gabriel began. "I'm gonna be straight with you, I didn't want this to happen. Trust me, I know what it's like to be picked on." He said and as soon as he went to say more Kubasaki spoke up almost outraged that he would try to relate to them.

"You have no idea what it's like. You get all the hot babes to yourself. You're the handsome, tough, exchange student. All the girls want you here, you're in babe paradise!" Kubasaki protested. The other two all nodded in agreement.

"I get you. I do. If I were in your shoes I'd want to beat my ass too. Contrary to what you might believe I was not a popular guy growing up. Me and my mom moved around a lot so it was hard to put down roots and make friends. People thought I was weird because I was hesitant to approach people. It mostly only went as far as the occasional mean comment but sometimes people tried to take shots at me, so I defended myself." Gabriel said, "But I never went out looking for a fight because people were treating me unfairly. If you want my advice, you don't have to listen, but if you want to have a better chance here you guys need to stop trying so hard to force your way into some fantasy. I'm not like that prick, Saizo I don't want to mess with you guys. The way you described it, it would seem like shit is hard enough on you guys already. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you start harassing me or my friends." He added. The three looked at each other as if maybe they misjudged this guy. "You need to have each other's backs like you did today, I mean granted you still got your asses kicked but that's beside the point. My point is that you don't need to have some model-like girlfriend or some dumbshit like that. I'm not friends with Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari because I care about how hot they. I'm friends with them because I know they'll help me when I need it and they're friends with me because I'll do the same for them. They make me stronger and more confident. That's what you all need to do for each other and who knows maybe in time you'll each get yourselves a little girlfriend of your own." He reassured them. "So tell you what, let's forget about all this. If you need help with some asshole who is giving you a hard time, you let me know. Now I'm not gonna beat up anyone who looks at you sideways but if someone is going out of their way to hurt you I'll help you guys handle it. Alright?" He asked while extending his fist.

The fan club members looked at each other in disbelief. Here he was, this guy who stole their goddesses away, offering an olive branch. Even after they had attacked him he still wanted to help them. They hesitated but met Gabriel half-way and bumped his fist. It felt nice not to find the scorn of another student.

"Alright now get the hell out of here before I beat the shit out of you again." Gabriel threatened playfully. The three scrambled out of the cratered and bowed to him before taking off.

Gabriel walked to the edge of the cliff as the sun shone down on him. He smiled as the wind blew through his hair. He accepted what he had done and decided that instead of letting it drag him he would atone for it.

" **That was very mature of you, boy."** The voice commended as he noted Gabriel's actions. He thought back to a time where he might have done something similar but that was so long ago and he scarcely remembered the man he used to be. But he could see the honor and nobility in Gabriel. At the same time, the voice was painfully aware of how far such goodness could fall. For now, he hoped that Gabriel would be spared his fate but still was hesitant in thinking that the boy was ready for the hardships that would follow.

Gabriel took this compliment and said nothing in response. He turned away from the cliff and headed back home. Off in the distance a girl with long purple hair watch completely enamored with what had transpired. She knew that he was the one.

 **Author's Note**

 **Hello there, it's me and I have returned from the dead. Due to a number of extraneous circumstances I was not in the right mind to continue work on this title like how I wanted to. I had plenty of ideas but no motivation to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) but I fully intend on devoting more time to working on bringing the content a few of you seem to enjoy. So with that aside I have two announcements. First, I will be ending the next chapter with a QnA so you have two weeks to submit any questions you have for me and I will answer them to the best of my ability. But, keep in mind that I will not be answering any questions that may spoil future plot points or extremely personal questions. Other than that ask away. Second, I will be revisiting previous chapters because I don't exactly like how I formatted them so I will be revising all of them. So, if you're interested, keep an eye out for the revamped chapters with a new style and possibly new content. Thank you for reading and putting up with my extended absences and less than stellar release schedule.**

 **P.S:Because of the QnA, the next chapter may be a bit short, but it may not so just be ready for that. Don't send the mobs after me.**


	7. Connections

The activities fair, Gabriel had completely forgotten about it. He had no idea what he wanted to do for an extracurricular. Between all the fights he seems to be sucked into and the usual recovery that follows, he thought it would be crazy to consider adding another responsibility onto that. Ms. Nekonome definitely seemed enthusiastic about this whole ordeal but to be fair that seemed to be her default emotion. He found himself distracted from her excited explanation and began to stare out of the window. He was snapped out of his daydream when he heard his name being called. He looked up at the front of the room and heard Ms. Nekonome call his name. A student had come into the class and was asking for him specifically. He had no idea who might have been looking for him and he expressed the same in a look he gave to Moka and Kurumu.

He got up and followed the student out of the classroom and into the hallway. The two talked to the administration office. Outside waited for a young man that seemed to be no older than Gabriel. He wore a clean pressed black business suit and black oxford shoes. The student who had escorted Gabriel gave a small bow and departed. The young man extended his hand and introduced himself as Aurelio Gandolfi. He spoke with an Italian accent and despite his dress, he spoke in a very casual tone. The name seemed familiar to Gabriel but at the time he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Aurelio gestured to Gabriel and the two walked together.

"So I'm told you're Yoko's nephew." Aurelio said glancing over to Gabriel. Someone had been talking about him and he did not quite know who. If it was Yoko she would have been there with him.

"Yeah, Gabriel Morris." Gabriel stated. He was unsure what this guy wanted. From the look of his clothes, he seemed to be quite wealthy.

"Oh, I know who you are. My family has been close with the Belnades and Morris families for quite some time." Aurelio said. This guy seemed to know a lot more than Gabriel did about his family, just how much was still uncertain.

"Wait. You said your name was Gandolfi. Like those Gandolfi's? The weapons manufacturers. This seemed to please Aurelio as he clapped his hands together and pointed to Gabriel.

"The very same!" Aurelio exclaimed. Gabriel knew he had heard of the Gandolfi's. They were one of the world's leading weapons manufacturers and from what heard they seemed to be one of the less shady ones. Business had to have been booming for his family's business after this main competitor was all but taken out in the Castlevania City incident. "Anyways, I just wanted to drop by and introduce myself. Like I said, the Gandolfi's and the Morris's have always been close. Once we found out that you were attending school here I flew over as quick as I could. The way I see it, we're practically family. So with that, all settled I bid you adieu good sir." Aurelio said with a sarcastic bow, "Now I should probably go say hi to auntie Yoko. She'd be heartbroken if she found out I came all this way and didn't at least say hello." He continued while looking at his watch. The two said their goodbyes and went on their separate ways.

Gabriel had no idea that his family had connections with such a powerful family like the Gandolfi's. He wondered why his mother wouldn't at least take advantage of that connection. As he walked through the hallway towards the activities fair he continued to ponder this. Though he wasn't exactly displeased having such powerful connections. Hell, if he ever needed money for a new car Gabriel was sure Aurelio would just buy him the car. With the amount of wealth, the Gandolfi family had he was sure that buying a car would be just a casual weekend activity. Gabriel couldn't imagine what he would do with that kind of money. Fame and fortune never really interested him, he'd much prefer a simple life that wasn't overwhelmed with the constant hustle and bustle that he assumed came along with high society life.

 **"The Gandolfi's, I should not be surprised that they would be involved in weapon's manufacturing. I had assumed that the Gandolfi's had disappeared altogether."** The voice said pleasantly surprised with the arrival of Aurelio.

"You know them?" Gabriel asked. He had no idea of who the voice was or of its history.

 **"Aye, indeed I did. Rinaldo Gandolfi was once a brilliant weaponsmith for the Brotherhood of Light. Indeed he was a genius ahead of his time. His creations were legendary and unmatched. Though one day he vanished and I had feared that his brilliance was lost forever."** The voice explained.

"So you were involved with the Brotherhood at one point?" Gabriel inquired. It would seem that the voice had unintentionally left a bit too much information and Gabriel was quick to latch onto it. "Listen, I know that for whatever reason you seem to be very secretive. I doubt asking for answers every time we talk will only lead to a headache for the both of us. Can I ask what I should call you?" Gabriel asked in the hopes that this would make future communication much simpler.

 **"I suppose I will offer you that courtesy."** The voice said before pausing very briefly, **"You may call me, Vlad."** Vlad said which made Gabriel sigh. The name just sounded fake but he knew that prying further would be a fruitless effort.

"Well, Vlad. I glad we got that settled then. If you'll excuse me I have to find the others and see what's going on with them." Gabriel said. He imagined that the activities fair had to have been in full swing by now.

Gabriel stepped into the courtyard and saw numerous booths for many student groups. Ranging from a chemistry club, the members of which seemed to be trying to force some love potions onto passing girl, to a ghost hunting club. Honestly, Gabriel was not surprised that the school would have some odd clubs. The first normal club he saw was a swimming club that was being swarmed by the male students, naturally, it was because a group of women in bikinis was handling sign-ups. He thought about it for a second which seemed to catch one of the girl's attention. But ultimately he decided that it wouldn't be a good fit for him, he couldn't swim. He walked through the fair and couldn't find a single club he was interested in. He took a seat on a bench and scratched his cheek, maybe he wouldn't join a club this year. Ms. Nekonome came walking past, she was clearly very pleased with how smoothly things seemed to be going. She looked and saw Gabriel sitting on the bench and looked at him curiously.

"Oh, Mr. Morris have you not found a club yet?" She asked to which Gabriel responded by shaking his head. She immediately meowed in excitement, "In that case can I interest you in the Newspaper Club? I'm the advisor!" She gleefully advertised. The Newspaper Club sounded a least a little interesting and having Ms. Nekonome as the advisor helped sell it a bit more. Gabriel liked Ms. Nekonome she gave the class a lighter feel and she was generally very easy to get along with as long as you can look past all the constant meowing.

"Sounds alright, how many people are a part of the club?" Gabriel inquired because he wanted to make sure he wasn't about to hop into a swarm of aspiring journalists. Ms. Nekonome seemed to hesitate briefly before answering.

"Just one, an upperclassman." She answered. Gabriel found it a bit odd that a club like that only had one member.

"Alright sign me up. Should be interesting." Gabriel said as Ms. Nekonome handed him a sign-up sheet. As soon as he finished signing his name he was swarmed by his friends.

"Newspaper Club?! If Gabriel is gonna be a part of it then sign me up as well!" Yukari exclaimed snatching the sheet.

"You're not hogging my man, you twerp. Give it here!" Kurumu protested as she then snatched the sheet from Yukari. Ms. Nekonome's eyes lit up from all the sudden sign-ups.

"Sounds like fun, especially with all of us." Moka said politely as she took the sheet from Kurumu.

"Meow! This is amazing!" Ms. Nekonome cheered as her tail swayed in delight. Gabriel sighed but smiled a bit. Surely the bickering would follow into the club as well. He couldn't catch a break at all it seems. Ms. Nekonome went on to explain the responsibilities of the Newspaper Club and how often they would meet. After she was finished she waved her students farewell and went on her way leaving the teens alone.

Yoko sat her desk steadily working through a stack of paperwork, the monotony of the job seemed to make her forget exactly what they were for. She was snapped from her work by a knock on the door. She did not hesitate to shoot up from her desk and hurry to the door. She opened the door to see Aurelio standing on the other side. She smiled as she welcomed Aurelio in and gave him a hug.

"Oh my god it's been ages! You look so handsome. How are things? How's your father?" Yoko asked. She knew Aurelio since he was a baby and was asked to be his godmother. Unfortunately, the nature of Yoko's work prevented her from being able to visit him regularly. Most of their time together was spent over video calls, though she always made an effort to visit on holidays.

"Father is well, a bit ornery but that's normal for him." Aurelio joked which made Yoko snicker. Giovanni Gandolfi was a good-natured man but so rarely did he allow for humor. "I just got done talking with Gabriel, I'm glad we're all back together." Aurelio said with a great deal of contentment. He was raised with a strong sense of family and in that regard he and Gabriel were similar. Despite never getting to know Gabriel when they were younger Aurelio couldn't help but feel like he had reunited with a long-lost brother. "Do you think your sister will be happy to see me? From your stories, she seems like a real mother bear figure." He continued.

"Well, she let me in the door. I doubt she'd turn you away." Yoko mused, she didn't know for certain because her sister had never met Aurelio, "The only person I could imagine her slamming the door on is Alucard but he's still at the main sanctuary the last I talked to him. Traveling isn't very easy for him as you can imagine?" Yoko stated as she recalled how hard it is for Alucard to travel freely even in the dead of night with how restless the world had become.

"I wish he wasn't so dead set on not using a phone. He could have just called me and I would have flown him over as well." Aurelio said a bit annoyed. Yoko nodded in agreement. Alucard's refusal to use any kind of electronic communication was always an inconvenience and Yoko prayed daily that he would get with the times. "Well he's the one who gets to pay the price, I'll see about scheduling a flight when I leave here. No cell reception here after all." Aurelio said as he pulled out an expensive looking smartphone. The barrier that separated the Monster World from the rest of the world tended to interfere with wireless signals.

"Well, he from a different time, quite literally," Yoko said referring to Alucard's age. "Not a whole lot we can do about it, his like a stubborn grandpa." She joked.

Aurelio nodded in agreement, from his experiences meeting Alucard he could tell that his life was mostly business even in a time of relative peace. The centuries seemingly stripped away any semblance of levity from the vampire. Despite that, he could tell that Alucard was not devoid of humanity, just a sense of humor, as on more than one occasion Alucard had visited on birthdays and holidays. Although he never was very festive and only ever offered a cordial greeting and wishes for good health. Aurelio was still hoping that one day he could get Alucard to attend a Christmas party so his grandmother could force the vampire to wear an ugly sweater like everyone else. After chatting for a bit more the two said their farewells and Aurelio began to walk away from the school.

Gabriel and the girls walked together discussing various topics and gossip, along with dodging the constant advances by Kurumu. The day had surprisingly been very calm and Gabriel was incredibly thankful for that. Meeting Aurelio wasn't like meeting Yoko for the first time, she was family and as far as Gabriel could tell Aurelio was just a friend of the family. As Gabriel thought about him it would seem that fate would have the two bump into again as Aurelio was leaving. The Italian youth was pleased to see Gabriel and looked at him with a sly smile when seeing him with all these attractive girls.

"Well well, looks like someone is living the dream." Aurelio remarked with a grin on his face. Gabriel sighed as it seemed that his choice of company would be an endless source of jokes at his expense. The girls all looked at Aurelio in confusion. They didn't know who this guy was who was approaching Gabriel so casually.

"See you say that but you got no idea. Everyone this is Aurelio Gandolfi and from what I can tell, a new pain in my ass." Gabriel said introducing Aurelio who bowed his head politely.

"Wait, Gandolfi? Like the mega-rich Gandolfi?" Kurumu asked as she clung to Gabriel's arm. Which amused Aurelio a bit.

"That would we be us." Aurelio said with a satisfied smile.

"Gabriel you didn't tell us you were friends with such a powerful family." Moka said as Gabriel pried his arm free from Kurumu.

"Trust me, this is news to me as well." Gabriel said while scratching the back of his head.

"When I heard Gabriel was attending school here I knew I had to pay him a visit." Aurelio said while looking at his watch. "Well, I should get going. Listen Gabriel give me call when you're on break and we'll take some more time to catch up." Aurelio said while slapping his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "Lemme see your phone, I'll put my number in." Aurelio said while pointing to Gabriel's pocket. Gabriel then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flip phone and Aurelio seemed to recoil in surprise. "Yikes, what is this? 2002? Okay, next time I see you I'll give you a bit of an upgrade." Aurelio said while putting his number into Gabriel's phone. "Well, you give me call when you head home for break and we'll set you up. Take care Gabriel, it's been amazing meeting you." Aurelio said as he shook Gabriel's hand and waved the girls farewell.

Gabriel looked back to his friends as he pocketed his phone. They looked at him as if silently judging him for his choice of cell phone.

"What?! I don't got that smartphone money." Gabriel said trying to justify having such an old phone.

They all smirked at seeing Gabriel getting so embarrassed by his phone. In reality, it was a gift from his mother and his first phone. She told him she would get him a new phone once the one she gave him broke but he could swear that the phone was protected by some supernatural force that made it indestructible. Quickly wanting to change the subject he decided to shift to talking about the activities fair.

"You know it's a good thing that Ms. Nekonome came to us with the Newspaper Club." Gabriel said, "I had no idea what I would have picked, the closest one I would have considered was the Swimming Club and I can't even swim." He added when in actuality he was just afraid of deep water.

"Looks like we're in the same boat then." Moka said with a content smile on her face, "As a vampire, I'm very weak in the water." She said which surprised Gabriel. It was a good thing then that he opted out of picking now to start taking swimming classes. "I was going to tell you earlier, we all planned to pick a club together but you got called away and Ms. Nekonome pushed out the door." She added.

"It's a shame too, I would have loved to have seen Gabriel in just his trunks." Kurumu lamented as she began to fantasize about a one on one swimming lesson with her Destined One.

"Looks like you'll have to settle for a calm and collaborative group effort...in full dress." Gabriel remarked to poke fun at Kurumu's loss. "Either way, should be a chill club." He said but somehow he knew that it was probably gonna be the furthest thing from a chill club.

 **Author's note**

 **Me again and seeing that no one really had any burning questions I'll just answer some questions that may arise in the future.**

 **This story is set mainly in the Lords Of Shadow universe but borrows a lot from the main continuity and takes a lot of inspiration from Aria of Sorrow (love that game).**

 **Gabriel's mother will play a much larger role later on so don't worry, momma gonna get some spotlight.**

 **Yes, my timeline of releases is abysmal please forgive me.**

 **This is my first ever fanfic and I'm really enjoying this**

 **If anyone has anymore questions feel free to private message me or leave them as a review I will read all of them and answer them. Stay tuned because next chapter is gonna be pretty cool.**


	8. Cold Heart

The next few weeks went on without much incident. The group was introduced to their senior member, Ginei Morioka, and without hesitation everyone could sense the friction between him and Gabriel. One could almost see the war they were waging with the glares they shot each other. It didn't help that Gabriel had caught Ginei peeping at Moka and the others on multiple occasions, but he was quick to shut him down. However, the two did not allow their rivalry to get in the way of the Newspaper Club. Aside from the occasional snide remark, the two were mostly professional when they were all working on the latest issue of the paper. It was like two alpha wolves putting their differences aside to work together on a hunt but once it came time to eat they were at each other's throats again. Moka was always quick to try and defuse the situation before it escalated into a full-on fist fight. Mostly because she wasn't a fan of violence but also because she could sense that Ginei was more dangerous than he let on. Despite their differences, the two boys did good work, though they would never admit it to the other, and it showed with how often they ran out of newspapers. Today had also been no exception.

"Whew that's all of em," Gabriel said as he dusted his hands off. Once again the student body had flocked over and snatched up every copy of the latest issue of the Yokai Gazette. "Has anyone seen Ginei? He was supposed to help pass these out." Gabriel huffed in frustration as their club president had once again skipped out on helping pass out the paper.

"Who cares?" Kurumu said as she crossed her arms. She, like Gabriel, didn't care much for Ginei.

"He's probably off peeping at girls in the changing rooms." Yukari accused which made Gabriel smirk as she was probably right. Despite Ginei's charismatic appearance he was a hardcore pervert and had been caught peeping along with taking pictures of unsuspecting girls.

"Then let's forget about him. We worked really hard on this issue and I think we deserve to celebrate." Moka suggested to which everyone agreed.

They decided to meet after school in the club room and would each bring a snack and beverage, Gabriel had to clarify no alcoholic beverages just in case a certain succubus tried to get clever. It would be nice to take some time and decompress after working so diligently on the paper and anytime away from Ginei was a good time for Gabriel. Just as they were about to pack up and head out a quiet voice startled all of them.

"You're all buddy buddy aren't you? In all honesty, I never understood that mentality." The voice said coldly. The voice came from a student who wore a white sweatshirt with dark blue sleeves, the usual checkered skirt that all the female students wore, she had long purple hair, purple and blue eyes, and she also had what seemed to be a lollipop in her mouth. She seemed to make herself as small as possible as if she didn't want to be noticed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurumu snapped as she began stomping towards the girl. Gabriel stuck his arm out to stop Kurumu and shook his head at her to shut her down.

"Well, I suppose they're an acquired taste," Gabriel said which caused an uproar from the girls behind him. He quickly turned around, "Would you calm down, I was joking. You're all awesome, except Kurumu she's alright." Gabriel said smirked at Kurumu. As much as Kurumu teased and flirted with Gabriel he thought it would be fair if he took some shots of his own, though she didn't much appreciate it.

The girl stuck out her hand, "Newspaper. Do you have one?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah it's a bit crinkled I hope that's alright," Gabriel said as he pulled a crinkled newspaper from his back pocket and handed it to the girl who grabbed it and moved in close to Gabriel's face. "Um...hi." He said uncomfortably as he could feel the daggers from the all the glares behind him.

"You're Gabriel Morris, right? I have to say you're much cuter up close." The girl said dryly and she stared direction into Gabriel's eyes. Gabriel just responded with a very uncertain thank you to which the girl responded with by giving a small smile. "I have to say, your articles are my favorite. You understand what it's like to be an outsider and I like that." She said and again Gabriel gave a bit more of an amicable thank you. "I even cut them out and collected them in this journal." She continued as she pulled out a dark colored journal and handed it to Gabriel who opened it again flipped through it. "I even added my own comments." She said.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed my writing that much." He said as he began to read the comments, "It's nice to know I have some fans-" he trailed off as he got a good look at the comments. They were all comments about wanting to be with him and how much they loved him. Page after page there was more of the same.

" **That's just disturbing,"** Vlad said about on the number of comments.

"Yeah, no shit. She has to be like a stalker or something." Gabriel thought as he closed the journal and tried his best to hide his horror.

"So what do you think?" The girl asked, cocking her head to the side.

Gabriel put on a very uncomfortable smile and said how much he appreciated her dedication. He slowly began backing away and told her he'd see her around and hoped she would enjoy the latest issue. He quickly tried to shove his friends off towards the school building without saying anything. The last thing he wanted was to make this girl angry. He's heard plenty of horror stories of stalkers going crazy on their object of obsession. He felt a bit better once he had put some distance between the girl and himself though he had a strong suspicion that he had not seen the last of her.

The group headed to their classes and tried to forget about the events of the morning. Regardless of how much he tried to push it out of his head, Gabriel couldn't wrap his head around the whole situation. A school full of monsters and a voice in his head, he could handle, but this was something else. He sat at his desk and waited for Ms. Nekonome to arrive. After a few minutes, she came bouncing in, still cheerful as always and took attendance. Just as she was finishing the door to the classroom slid open and a student stepped in. Gabriel almost fell out of his chair as he saw that it was the girl from earlier, his very own stalker. She silently moved through the classroom and took a seat at the empty desk that was in front Gabriel. Ms. Nekonome blankly looked at her before scrambling to look at her attendance sheet.

"Oh! ! What a pleasant surprise I'm glad you're able to join us at last!" Ms. Nekonome exclaimed as she turned to the rest of class. "Everyone. This is Mizore Shirayuki, due to extenuating circumstances she has been unable to attend class. Make sure you show her the same respect you would show the rest of your peers." She added

Gabriel was silently panicking in his chair which he tried to hide with a fake smile when Mizore turned to look back at him. Meeting his eyes with a small smile before turning back around. A chill ran down his spine and seemed to linger there the rest of the day and once the bell rung he was quick to leave the building.

"It's strange to see you like this. I can understand being unnerved but not to the degree that you are visible shaken." Vlad remarked which made Gabriel scoff.

"Dude, this is just next level creepy. I know she's some kind of monster but that ain't the problem. Even if she was just some normal chick this would still freak me out." Gabriel said quickly. The idea that she had possibly been watching him for weeks unnerved him enormously. As he walked back to the dormitory he still felt uneasy.

Again he felt a chill run down his back as if someone were watching him. He spun around to see if that girl was there but there was no one. As he turned back around Mizore was there, much closer that he would like which made him jump back instinctually. He exhaled through his mouth and clutched his chest.

"Jesus, you scared me," Gabriel said while taking a deep breath. "Don't sneak up on me like that, I almost laid you out." He playfully threatened. Regaining his composure he stood up straight and looked at Mizore's blank expression. "You're Mizore right?" He asked to which she responded by nodding.

"Sorry for startling you, I'm very quiet by nature. I have a bad habit of sneaking up on people by complete accident." She said apologetically. Gabriel waved it off and forgave which made Mizore smile a bit. "Take a walk with me, I want to show you something," Mizore said while grabbing Gabriel's arm and pulling him off into the forest.

Instead of protesting he decided to follow along for the time being. He was confident that if she tried something he would be able to defend himself. The two walked silently, Mizore still clinging to him, until they reached a pond. She reached down to pick up a small stone and handed it to Gabriel.

"I love coming out here to skip stones, I'm pretty good at it." Mizore boasted in a quiet tone.

Gabriel palmed the stone in his hand and held it like a frisbee in his hand before throwing it across the water, skipping it 3 times before it began to sink to the bottom of the pond. Mizore picked up a stone and did the same, skipping it 8 times. Gabriel looked at Mizore slightly impressed. He was never very good at skipping stones, at most he could get 4 skips. The two continued to take turns skipping stones. Mizore was clearly having a good time watching Gabriel getting frustrated with constantly being outdone. After some time Gabriel decided that it would probably be best that he headed out. As he turned to leave Mizore quickly wrapped her arms around Gabriel from behind.

"Where are you going, Gabriel? You suck so bad at this you've hardly gotten over 4 skips." Mizore said in a playful tone. Gabriel silently lamented to himself as he knew was late for the wrap party and that everyone was waiting for him. Mizore caught onto this vibe from Gabriel and her tone turned cold. "You like her more than me don't you?" Mizore asked menacingly which began to set off alarms in Gabriel's mind. "You want to go be with that girl Moka, don't you? You should stay, if you don't I don't know what'll happen to that poor girl." Mizore threatened.

Gabriel gritted his teeth and cursed silently to himself. He was not in a good spot right now. Mizore had him in her arms and the moment he made a move she could do anything. Gabriel had no idea what she was capable of. Just then the air around them began to grow colder and colder. To the point where Gabriel could see his own breath. He looked down and saw that the pond was beginning to freeze over, he was in serious danger and had to do something.

"Look, Mizore. Leave Moka and the others out of this alright? We can work this out." Gabriel pleaded but he began to worry as Mizore tightened her grip on him.

"What is there to work out? You're going to be all mine." Mizore said with a chilling calm.

A harsh and icy wind began to blow as Mizore let Gabriel go and pushed him onto the frozen pond. Gabriel almost stumbled but used his hand to steady himself as he slid back. He looked up to see Mizore approach, her hair now looking like icicles and large spikes of ice sprouting up next to her as she walked towards Gabriel. He tried his best to steady himself but he knew that he would have a hard time fighting on the ice.

"If you're thinking about fighting back I wouldn't recommend it," Mizore said as she observed Gabriel's stance. She's seen it before. "I'm a snow woman, I have complete control of ice and right now you're already mine." She added as ice began to climb up Gabriel's legs.

"Dammit!" Gabriel swore as he tried to yank his feet free of the ice but as he summoned the Shadow Whip to try and break the ice it began to encase his chest and arms which made it impossible to move.

As the ice moved up to his neck Gabriel was forced to watch as Mizore walked up to him and remove the lollipop from her mouth. She moved her face close to Gabriel who was straining to free himself. He scowled at Mizore and let out a frustrated growl.

"You're gonna be mine, whether you like it or not. Even if I have to force you." Mizore said while drawing close to Gabriel's face and kissing him. Her lips were cold and it felt like the ice was going to consume him any second.

He began to give up hope until he heard Moka's voice yell out his name from above. Kurumu and Moka were approaching from the sky, Kurumu landed with Moka and stood on the ice in front of Mizore. The ice had all but covered Gabriel's face and Mizore stood in front of him.

"You?! How did you escape my ice clone?" Mizore asked in disbelief as her assassination attempt of Moka had obviously failed.

"That would be because of yours truly," Kurumu said with anger in her voice. "I baked a love potion into a cake for out wrap party and I was going to use that to make Gabriel fall for me but I had to bash it over the head of your little puppet! Now I'm gonna make you pay for ruining my chance to seduce my Destined One!" Kurumu exclaimed as her claws extended.

Mizore responded in kind by growing large ice claws on each hand and stood ready to dispatch with the two girls in front of her.

"You two just need to disappear!" Mizore shouted as a huge torrent of icy wind blew towards the two.

" **Giving up already?"** Vlad asked slightly disappointed.

"My options are limited right now," Gabriel said as he continued to struggle.

" **Focus, you should be able to easily get out of this."** Vlad noted.

Gabriel was forced to watch as Kurumu and Moka were dodging incoming shards of ice and spikes of ice emerging from the pond. He wanted to help them and he knew that he could break free that he could stop Mizore before she hurt them. He gritted his teeth tighter and strained harder and harder. Deep inside he could feel power bubbling up inside him but he had to dig deeper. Channel his anger like he had done before. He yelled out which made Mizore turn around in surprise as she saw the ice that imprisoned Gabriel begin to crack. From inside the ice, a glow could be seen emanating from Gabriel's arms. He yelled louder and he summoned the Chaos Claws and shattered the ice that has imprisoned him. The flaming gauntlets blazed intensely which made Mizore recoil a bit. He crushed the ice that held him in place and stood ready to face Mizore.

"This ends now!" Gabriel said while clenching his fists. Mizore looked almost heartbroken from this. She was surrounded on all sides now.

"You're rejecting my love?" Mizore asked, her voice quivering. "I thought you were the one who understood me?"

"I didn't want to do this but you're not going to hurt my friends. I thought we could have been friends too." Gabriel said somewhat disappointed. Their short time skipping rocks together made him think that she wasn't as creepy as he assumed.

"Friends? No...no more lies! Stay away from me!" Mizore screamed as a blizzard-like wind blew all around them, blinding everyone.

When the wind cleared Mizore was gone and the air returned to normal. The three looked at each other and began to walk towards each other but stopped when the heard a loud crack. They simultaneously looked down as the ice broke and they all fell in. Both he and Moka struggled in the water before Kurumu managed to fish them out and set them on land. Moka seemed to spark with electricity as she groaned in pain.

"Moka are you alright?" Gabriel asked as he cautiously approached Moka. He had no idea what was happening.

"Water. Vampires are weak to water." Moka managed to say through strained breaths. She was in intense pain but Gabriel did not know how to help her.

"It's probably because of the purifying properties of water." Kurumu said as she was shivering.

"Shit, we have to get her dry. Let's get back to the clubroom." Gabriel said as he put Moka's arm around him and lifted her up. The crackling sparks stung but Gabriel managed to endure it as they walked as quick as possible back to the clubroom. He could only imagine the pain Moka was in as just being this close hurt him. He didn't imagine that when she told him that vampires would are weak to water it would mean they would turn into walking lightning rods.

The trio entered the clubroom and they were quickly approached by a very concerned Yukari who barraged them with questions. Gabriel interrupted her and told her to grab towels as quick as she could. Yukari quickly headed out and returned minutes later with three towels handing two to Gabriel and one to Kurumu. Gabriel quickly wrapped the towel around Moka tried to dry her off as best he could. Kurumu looked a bit jealous with all the attention Moka was getting and pouted while she sat in a chair. When the sparks had stopped Moka seemed to recover quickly which relieved Gabriel and Yukari.

"Thank you, Gabriel. I'm sorry that you were being hurt while you helped me back." Moka apologized as she wrapped the towel tightly around herself. Gabriel shook his head and covered himself with his towel.

"It's nothing, it seemed like you were hurting a lot more than I was. I guess it's a good thing I didn't join the swimming club huh?" Gabriel remarked which made Moka giggle and nod her head in agreement.

"Well, I would have loved to have seen you in just your trunks," Kurumu commented as she thought about her and Gabriel enjoying some one on one time in the pool.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I can't swim," Gabriel said with a smirk.

However, this did not deter Kurumu as she scooted closer to Gabriel and offered to teach him. But before Gabriel could say a word he sneezed very violently which made Kurumu quickly retreat.

"Sorry but I think our little ice bath got me a little sick." Gabriel said while sniffling.

Yukari giggled at the sight of her friends all wrapped up in blankets. She thought they looked like a bunch of old people sitting in a retirement home. It was unfortunate they all seem to have fallen ill when they were supposed to have their wrap party. It was then Yukari spoke up with an idea to remedy this situation and her friends at the same time.

"Why don't we have some nice warm tea and just relax. Just because you're all sick doesn't mean we still can't enjoy ourselves." Yukari suggested as she conjured a teapot with her wand.

"Well more of a hot chocolate guy myself but tea works too I guess." Gabriel said as he sneezed again.

"Yeah, that sounds wonderful, Yukari." Moka said in a somewhat hoarse voice.

Before Kurumu could say something she let out a loud sneeze which Yukari took as a yes. She conjured cups for everyone and poured hot water into each cup. Realizing she had to tea bags she told the Gabriel and the others to wait while she ran and got some. The room was largely quiet until Gabriel spoke up.

"She's not a bad person." Gabriel said as he held the cup of hot water in his hands. He didn't know if he was trying to convince the others or convince himself about Mizore. Part of him could feel that she was lonely and needed a friend but part of him was cautious of how nonchalant she handled the possibility of murdering another student to get what she wanted. He didn't know if the girl he skipped rocks with was just a facade to hide a much more sinister persona inside. Being friends with Moka had skewed his perception of character and made him question just how much people lied about who they are.

"Gabe, she almost turned you into a popsicle and skewered Moka." Kurumu said harshly. She clearly did not share the same hope for Mizore. All Kurumu saw was someone who almost took her Destined One from her and that was unforgivable.

"I hate to say it but Kurumu is right. If she hadn't stepped in I don't think I could have stopped the clone by myself." Moka said looking down at her feet. She could tell that Gabriel saw something in Mizore that she and Kurumu did not, but she could not rightly justify it herself even if she tried.

"I don't know maybe if I-" Gabriel began as Kurumu scooted up to Gabriel and grabbed his shoulder.

"There was nothing you could have done. She's nuts. Regardless of what you did, you said she still would have flipped her shit." Kurumu stated trying to reassure Gabriel that he wasn't at fault.

"She's not nuts, she's in a bad spot. Something doesn't feel right with all this." Gabriel pondered out loud.

Before anyone else could weigh in the door to the club room burst open. Ms. Nekonome and Yukari stood in the doorway, clearly in a panic. Everyone looked at each other trying to assess the situation.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all safe!" Ms. Nekonome said relieved to see her students safe.

"What's happening, Ms. Nekonome?" Moka asked, unsure what has their teacher so frazzled.

"It's your classmate, Mizore. She's gone and got herself into a heap of trouble." Ms. Nekonome said. Which made Gabriel and the others look at each other very concerned with the situation.

The group stood around an infirmary bed. The gym teacher laid covered in bandages, everyone was horrified that Mizore would go so far as to attack a faculty member and leave him in such a state. Gabriel clenched his fist tightly. This was all his fault he kept saying to himself if he had been clearer with Mizore maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"What's gonna happen to her?" Yukari asked as she looked over the injured teacher.

"Well Mr. Kotsubo's injuries aren't fatal and he should make a full recovery. The most likely outcome is that once she's found she'll be expelled." Ms. Nekonome said sadly as her ears drooped.

Without saying a word he darted from the room leaving everyone behind. This was his mistake and he was going to fix it. Ginei walked into the room as Gabriel sprinted out, looking rather confused.

"Woah what's he in such a hurry for?" Ginei asked as he met the scornful eyes of the other girls in the room.

"What are you going to do? Try and reason with her? As you recall that wasn't very effective the last time you two met." Vlad said skeptically.

Gabriel ran through the grounds until he felt the air growing colder. Heading towards where it was getting closer he began to formulate a plan.

"I know she's reasonable. I just have to break through." Gabriel said with conviction.

He slowed to a jog as the air became frigid and his breath began to appear in front of his face. He was getting close but he would have to be careful just in case she lashed out. He walked closer to the source of the unnatural cold until he saw Mizore sitting with her knees brought up to her head. She was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff that overlooked that vast crimson sea that seemed to stretch on for eternity. She was lightly sobbing and a cold mist seemed to emanate from her. Gabriel drew closer which made Mizore turn and look as she heard his footsteps crunch on the icy ground beneath him.

"G-Gabriel? Is that really you?" Mizore asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, it's me," Gabriel said as he carefully drew closer. "Listen, Mr. Kotsubo is gonna be fine." He explained which made Mizore wince upon hearing that. "If you come back with me I'm sure we can work something out so you won't get the boot. Please, I'm asking you to come back with me before the faculty finds you." Gabriel pleaded.

Mizore said nothing as she slowly stood up and let out a defeated laugh. She turned to face Gabriel with tears streaming down her face. Gabriel was taken aback by this, he didn't know what to think about it.

"You know I thought you were really the one," Mizore said wiping her tears away. "Just go, I know what I have to do." She said grimly.

Gabriel's eyes widened as he quickly stepped forward extending his hand to her asking her not to do what she was planning to do. His advances were quickly shut down as he was thrown back by an icy wind,

"Just stay away from me!" Mizore shouted. The wind blew so harsh that several trees behind Gabriel toppled over.

Gabriel stood to his feet and as he was about to go make another attempt to get Mizore he was stopped as he heard Moka's voice telling him to wait. He spun around to see her along with Kurumu and Yukari running towards him with what looked like photos in their hands.

"Mizore is innocent. She didn't just attack Mr. Kotsubo for no reason." Moka quickly said as she handed Gabriel several pictures of an octopus-like monster coiling it's tentacles around Mizore. Gabriel looked at the pictures with shock and disgust. "She was just defending herself because he was molesting her!" Moka exclaimed.

Gabriel cursed to himself that he was so quick to assume Mizore's guilt. Despite his desire to believe in the goodness inside Mizore he still assumed that she was guilty. He could only imagine the damage his words had done, he spoke in ignorance and now he didn't know what Mizore would do.

"Mizore I'm sorry!" Gabriel quickly exclaimed, " I was stupid to not give you the benefit of the doubt." Gabriel said apologetically but it would fall on deaf ears.

"I said stay away from me!" Mizore screamed as the wind picked up once more and behind her massive pillars of ice sprouted from the cliff face, towards the top of each pillar an icy visage that resembled Mizore took form. They all seemed to echo thoughts of despair, isolation, rejection, and loneliness.

"What are these things?" Kurumu asked as she braced herself from the wind.

"They seem like manifestations of Mizore's thoughts" Yukari deduced.

Mizore laughed uncontrollably and dozens of ice clones began to form from the ice. They stood in front of her like a battalion of soldiers all poised to attack. Each of them seemed to echo similar thoughts. Seeing the coming conflict Moka ran over to Gabriel and presented her rosary, she knew that her strength would not be enough that the other her would have to take over. Gabriel quickly complied and yanked off the rosary, Moka transforming into her white-haired self. The release of Moka's immense energy shattered several clones but they quickly reformed.

"Gotten yourself into more trouble I see." Moka remarked as she looked over the horde of icy foes in front of her.

"Yeah, I seem to be really good at that," Gabriel said as he stowed the rosary away. "Listen, everyone, these things are just Mizore's emotions taking control. We all need to work together and bring her back." Gabriel commanded as he got into a battle stance.

Kurumu extended her razor sharp claws and let her wings free, Moka cracked her neck and knuckles, and Yukari readied her wand. Mizore was on her knees behind the horde looking down and utterly defeated.

"Just leave me here...no one will miss me." Mizore said quietly."

"Not a chance, Mizore!" Gabriel exclaimed, "You may think that no one will miss you but you're dead wrong. I won't speak for the others but I know I'll miss you. I still have to beat you in rock skipping don't I?" Gabriel asked trying to reach Mizore but one of the clones stepped forward and pointed at Gabriel with its icy claws.

"He's lying if he really means what he says and he's really your friend then he'll die with you.

"Looks like we have to fight our way through them." Gabriel said as he ignited the Chaos Claws.

"Fine by me." Moka said looking at Gabriel.

"Yeah let's get em!" Yukari cheered.

"I'm with you all the way babe." Kurumu said.

"Let's go!" Gabriel yelled as he charged forward.

A clone swiped at him but before it could connect he used the ice to slide underneath the clone and shattered it with a powerful blow from behind. Moka kicked one into a group of clones shattering them.

"Hmph such weak constructs, this is too easy." Moka remarked.

Kurumu swooped down from high above slicing through 4 clones, "I agree with ya for once Moka." Kurumu responded as she floated above the battlefield.

Yukari crushed a few by summoning washtubs over them, "This is actually kinda fun!" Yukari exclaimed as she bombarded the clones with more washtubs.

Gabriel dodged a lunge for his head and followed up with a shot to the gut of one of the clone. As they shattered the clones, more and more began to summon up from the ice.

"Mizore! You have to stop this! We're here to help you!" Gabriel pleaded while slamming two clones' heads together.

"I can't I don't have control over them anymore. Just go!" Mizore desperately begged not wanting Gabriel to get hurt.

"Moka might be able to keep this up all night but I don't think I will. I need to bring Mizore back, get her under control before we get overwhelmed." Gabriel thought. He spun around to Yukari who had just despatched a few more clones. "Yukari give me a step up!" Gabriel commanded.

Yukari nodded her head and summoned washtubs to act as a quick springboard. He used this new step stool to jump into the air, cocking his arm back he slammed into the ground unleashing a fiery blast around him. Using this opening he made a break for Mizore. As he grew closer his way back was filled in with clones, closing off his escape. Gabriel stood in front of Mizore, switching to the Shadow Whip.

"Gabriel I can't stop them, they'll keep coming!" Mizore worriedly said as she looked up at Gabriel.

Gabriel smirked, "Don't you worry. I got this." He said trying to mask his nervousness.

"Let's see how much of a liar he really is." The clones said as they raised their arms and unleashed a huge gust of frigid wind. Gabriel stood his ground but Mizore quickly was blown off the cliff. Managing to cling on with one hand she smiled at Gabriel.

"Thank you, Gabriel. For being the one person to care enough about me to try and save me." Mizore said with tears in her eyes as she slipped from the cliff.

"No!" Gabriel exclaimed, "Kurumu! Back me up!" Gabriel yelled as he charged towards the cliff. The other girls looked on in shock as Gabriel dove off the cliff after Mizore.

"I'm coming!" Kurumu shouted as she flew after Gabriel.

Without a hint of fear in his eyes, Gabriel plummeted towards Mizore. Grabbing her tightly he used the gauntlet of the Shadow Whip to dig his hand into the cliff face slowing their fall until they dangled on the edge.

"Gah! If my shoulder isn't dislocated after this then I need to go to Vegas because I have some ungodly luck." He remarked, wincing in pain. Mizore looked into Gabriel's eyes, her savior's eyes. He dove off a cliff for her.

"Gabriel, you should have just let me go." Mizore said trying to hide from his gaze.

Gabriel looked down at her with a resolute gaze, "Never in a million years. I was wrong to think you would ever attack someone for no reason. If I'd let you go, I'd never forgive myself." He stated. Kurumu dived down towards the two.

"I'm here!" Kurumu announced as she hovered next to Gabriel and Mizore.

"Take her, get her out of here." Gabriel said as he strained to lift Mizore over to Kurumu.

"But, what about you? You can't hang here forever. I can take you too" Kurumu pleaded.

"Can't risk it. No time to argue now get her to safety. Go now!" Gabriel commanded as Kurumu hesitantly lifted Mizore up and towards the top of the cliff. He could feel his grip loosening, as the pain from his dislocated shoulder stabbed through his body. "Nope, it's definitely dislocated." Gabriel stated.

" **With how fast the two of you were falling, you should be glad it didn't get ripped off."** Vlad said.

"Not gonna lie, your little remarks are not really appreciated right now." Gabriel said as he tried to find another handhold, to no avail.

Kurumu dropped Mizore off at the top of the cliff just as Moka and Yukari finished off the last of the clones.

"Woohoo, that's the last of them!" Yukari cheered while twirling her wand.

Moka looked at Kurumu and Mizore, noticing that Gabriel was not with them. "Where is Gabriel?" Moka asked, slightly concerned.

"Hanging off the side of the cliff, I have to go get him!" Kurumu quickly answered as she dove off to rescue Gabriel, Moka, and Yukari quickly following behind to peer over the edge.

Before Kurumu could reach Gabriel, to her's and everyone else's horror, he lost his grip and began to fall.

"Gabriel!" Kurumu and Yukari yelled out while Moka looked on in fear. Try as Kurumu may, she could not catch up to Gabriel who looked at her and smiled. Seemingly content that his last act was saving someone else.

" **Was it worth it, Gabriel?"** Vlad asked in a somber tone.

"I guess we'll see." Gabriel simply responded as he crashed into the deep red sea.

Kurumu looked around at the surface of the water frantically to find and sign of Gabriel. Tears flowed from her eyes as she hoped in vain that he would pop out of the water any second with another smart remark. "Come on, Gabe. You can't be gone." Kurumu said to herself.

Yukari was mortified to see her friend, that she had so recently made plummet to his death, especially after Gabriel defended her from the class representatives. Tears flowed from her eyes as her grief began to overtake her.

Moka snapped to Mizore who laid on the ground in disbelief, eyes full of rage and hatred. She grabbed Mizore by the throat and lifted her with one hand.

"This is all your fault!" Moka accused. "If you hadn't been so fixated on dying then Gabriel wouldn't have had to fling himself to his death to save you! He wouldn't accept your advances you to decide you want to go and off yourself. You led him to his death from that?!" Moka screamed as she choked Mizore.

Yukari grabbed Moka's other arm. "Moka please stop, this isn't Mizore's fault. Gabriel wouldn't want you to do this." Yukari pleaded. Moka harshed her gaze but dropped Mizore.

"He wouldn't. I can't believe he just went and did something so stupid." Moka said to herself as a single solitary tear fell from her face. Kurumu landed next to them, her face downcast and forlorn.

"I can't find him." Kurumu said as she fell to her knees.

The four of them stood in silence for awhile as the gravity of the situation began to take hold. Before any of them could say anything their silence was broken by approaching footsteps. Yoko ran to the group, looking around frantically.

"Where is Gabriel? He ran by me and said he was going after Mizore and then there was a loud ruckus. I hurried over here as quick as I could when I heard the commotion. Where is my nephew?" Yoko asked looking at the despondent group. Not a single one of them was willing to repeat the event to Yoko. Moka was the one to break the silence.

"Mizore slipped off the cliff, he went after her. He made sure she was safe but he fell." Moka explained. Yoko covered her mouth in shock.

"Show me where he fell!" Yoko demanded. The girls lead her to the cliff edge and pointed to where Gabriel fell. "Auntie Yoko is coming, just hold on a little longer." Yoko said to herself as she removed her heels and leaped off the edge to everyone's surprise.

She conjured a strong wind beneath her to slow her fall. When she was at a safe height she broke into a dive. She swam deep until she found Gabriel sinking deeper and deeper into the depths. Taking her into his arms she breathed a bit of air into his lungs and started swimming up to the surface. The two breached the surface, but Gabriel remained still and limp. Quickly, Yoko made for the nearest shore dragging Gabriel's limp body along. Pulling him ashore she laid him on his back and began to perform CPR on her nephew. The others, except Mizore, found their way down to the shore and watched as Yoko desperately tried to save their friend.

"He's still alive but he's faint. He hit the water like concrete, it's miracle he was not immediately dead." Yoko explained as she performed chest compressions. "Come on don't quit on me now, sweetheart. Wake up." Yoko pleaded.

Gabriel was dizzy, he felt out of displaced. Under his head, he felt something soft and saw what looked like white cloth. He thought it was a pillow until he felt a gentle hand pet his head. He felt at peace as the hand ran her hand through his hair. "It's time for you to wake up Gabriel. It's time to wake up." A sweet voice said. Gabriel felt a strong sense of loss and grief as he heard this voice. "But, I don't want to wake up. I want to stay here, with you." Gabriel said. "Shh, it's time for me to go. Please, my dear Gabriel, wake up." The voice said once more.

Quickly Gabriel's eyes darted open and he immediately started coughing up water. Before he could completely recover he was ambushed by Kurumu and Yukari who clung to him, crying tears of joy.

"Ow ow ow, easy guys. Pretty sure I broke several somethings." Gabriel jokingly, but not really, remarked.

The two girls expressed their disbelief and elation over his survival but we cut off as Moka strode forward and stopped in front of Gabriel. Getting down to eye level she looked at him with a fierce gaze.

"Don't you ever do something so boneheaded ever again or I will make sure you break a lot more than a few bones!" Moka threatened, snatching her rosary from Gabriel as he retrieved it from his chest pocket. Placing the rosary back she changed back into her pink-haired self, Kurumu catching her as she fell.

"I think she likes me." Gabriel said chuckling at Moka's well-intentioned threats. Yoko smiled as she lightly hugged her nephew,

"She has a point, you had us worried to death. You should know better than to scare your lovely auntie like that. Can you stand?" Yoko asked.

"Depends, can I use you as a shoulder rest?" Gabriel asked. Without hesitation, Yoko put Gabriel's arm around her shoulder and hoisted him up.

"I'd carry you if I had to." Yoko said as she kissed her nephew's cheek trying to hold back her elation. She turned her head back to the girls, "I'll make sure he's taken care of let me have some time alone with him, you girls head home.

"But-" Yukari began to protest but was stopped by Kurumu.

"Just make sure my Destined One gets back all the treatment he needs." Kurumu said as she looked at Yoko who nodded her head.

Yukari was surprised to see this reaction from Kurumu but didn't argue with her. She knew they could trust Gabriel with Yoko.

Yoko helped her injured nephew back home. They mostly walked in silence only stopping when Gabriel needed to rest for a moment. As they drew closer to the dormitory Yoko spoke up.

"Why did you do that? You barely know her, she tried to freeze you solid and force herself on you. Yet, you saved her and nearly died for her." Yoko asked Gabriel, puzzled by his actions.

Gabriel looked forward as he thought about why he did what he did. Thinking for a moment he answered Yoko as honestly as he could.

"She was alone, I was her only outlet to feel some semblance of belonging. You didn't see what I saw in her eyes. I could see the pain and couldn't fathom what could have caused such hopelessness to appear so clearly in just an expression. She was a victim and I almost let her down." Gabriel explained.

"You're not responsible for how she is feeling. Certainly what you did shows magnitudes about your character. But your selflessness will eventually become a problem to you. You'll be lucky to just end up like this." Yoko said concerned with Gabriel's well-being

"I didn't do it to be some kind of hero. I did what I thought was the right thing to do. She never had a chance to live like a normal girl, to have a friend who accepted her. Letting her go would rob her of any chance to actually live." Gabriel continued.

"Well if you're going to pull stunts like that I suggest you learn how to swim." Yoko teased.

The two shared a light chuckle as they headed into the dorm. The other boys seemed envious of Gabriel being escorted in the arms of such a beautiful woman. Yoko opened the door to Gabriel's room and helped him to bed.

"I'll be here in the morning to check on you, I think you deserve a day off tomorrow." Yoko says as she plants a small kiss on Gabriel's cheek and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

Gabriel sat up in bed and looked to the corner of his room. He knew that she would have found out where he lives so he expected this would happen. He just didn't know how she got in.

"You can come out Mizore, I know you're there." Gabriel said as Kurumu emerged from the dark corner of the room and slowly approached him. He patted the end of the bed for her to sit. She reluctantly sat at the end of the bed and avoided looking towards Gabriel.

"I'm sorry I caused all of this," Mizore said as tears trickled down her face. "It's my fault you ended up like this." Her melancholy would be cut short when he felt and gentle touch on her back. The warmth of Gabriel's hand felt comforting.

"I have no one to blame but myself. I don't blame you at all. I should have been clear with you from the start. I should never have assumed you were guilty. I hope you can forgive me for that." Gabriel said which cause more tears to fall from Mizore's eyes.

"How could I not forgive you after you saved my life. I owe you everything." Mizore said almost sobbing.

"Then pay me back." Gabriel said bluntly which made Mizore turn and look at Gabriel. "I want you and I to be friends. I don't want you to feel like you have to be alone anymore. And I want free sno cones in the summer." Gabriel said with a smile.

Mizore wiped her tears away and nodded her head in agreement. Gabriel opened his arms and the two gave each other a light hug. Mizore stood up from the bed and walked to the window sliding it open. Mizore placed a hand over her heart and smiled as she left through the window.

"Oh and no more sneaking into my room!" Gabriel shouted after her.

Gabriel spent the rest of his night laying in bed but still, his mind was troubled. He had saved Mizore but part of him still felt like there was something he still had to do. He sat up in bed and closed his eyes.

" **The teacher, he's faced no more consequence than you have. He victimized a vulnerable girl and will face no judgment."** Vlad said with a distinct hint of disgust in his voice.

"No, he will." Gabriel said with a serious look on his face.

Mr. Kotsubo laid in his bed groaning from the pain. He didn't expect to be nearly frozen solid by that girl. He swore out loud and cursed about his misfortune. How was he to blame when all these girls wore such revealing outfits, they were practically begging to be ogled. Besides, it's not as if he were an ugly man, many girls like older men so he figured he would be doing them a favor by playing into their fantasies. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door to the infirmary slid open. Heavy footsteps made their way towards the bed-ridden teacher. It was the middle of the night, no one should have been in the building. A hand grabbed the divider and swung it open. Gabriel stood there breathing heavily, though he healed quicker than most he was still very much injured. Yet, something pulled him here and gave him the strength of will to see what he was going to do.

"Mr. Morris? What the hell are you doing here? You should be at home." Mr. Kotsubo reprimanded.

"And you should be in hell." Gabriel retorted calmly with murder in his eyes.

Mr. Kotsubo was reasonably taken aback by this response and scowled intensely at Gabriel, "How dare you talk to me like that! I am a teacher!" He said.

Gabriel stared coldly at the teacher and said nothing as he stepped closer. An aura of murderous intent seemed to exude from Gabriel which made Mr. Kotsubo begin to sweat. Had he been found out? Impossible, he thought, there were no witnesses and certainly no one would believe a student over him.

"Tell me." Gabriel said as he clenched his fists, "What kind of teacher preys upon one of their own students when they're at their lowest?" Gabriel's glare was intense and oppressive. Mr. Kotsubo fumbled over his words to make any sort of response, he had been found out. What was going to happen to him? "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you." Gabriel said which seemed to relieve Mr. Kotsubo's nerves a bit. He knew what had happened between Gabriel and the student council president. "But, maggots like you don't deserve to have any sort of authority. So," Gabriel said as he summoned his Chaos power, but this time the flaming gauntlets only covered his hands like gloves, "I'm just going to kick your ass!" Gabriel exclaimed.

Before Mr. Kotsubo could react Gabriel began to pummel him with a rapid barrage of strikes. How could he be this fast? More and more Gabriel laid into Mr. Kotsubo before reeling back and letting the Chaos power engulf up to his elbow and a finishing with one more powerful blow sending Mr. Kotsubo flying out of the window. Mr. Kotsubo's entire body felt like it was crumbling and his vision began to fade and he saw Gabriel standing at the window staring down at him. An oppressive feeling of malevolence emanated from him as he blacked out. Gabriel spit on the unconscious and broken teacher and turned away from the window.

"Remember that the next time you feel like getting touchy feely." Gabriel spat as he walked out of the room.

Yoko shot up in bed in a cold sweat. A deep pit in her stomach seemed to twist as she sat up in bed placing her face in her hands and rubbing her forehead. She was all to familiar with the sensation she was feeling. This intense murderous intent seemed to pollute the air and her feeling was made worse when she sensed another power. She should have realized that he would have gone after him.

"Gabriel, please tell me you didn't kill him." Yoko said to herself as she looked at a picture on her nightstand of two women, a man, and a baby held in one of the woman's arms. Reaching over she picked up the picture and touched the face of the smiling baby, "Don't lose yourself like he did." She lamented while holding the picture to her chest.

 **Author's Note**

 **Hey everyone, its me, ya boi, the Invisible Author. Sorry for another unannounces hiatus but I was dealing with a lot personal stuff and I lost a lot of my motivation. I didn't want to release subpar content for you all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try and be better in the future.**


	9. Excessive Force

A loud grinding sound can be heard as Gabriel drives a sword through a suit of possessed armor, grabbing the blade from its arms and turning it on its master. As the suit collapsed to the floor he brushed his hands off and exhaled. His combat prowess continued to increase at a steady rate with the nightly training in the castle. His strikes were precise and quick, it almost became a game for him, each night he tried to dispatch his foes quicker and quicker. Before another wave of enemies would raise from the ground their training would be interrupted by Vlad who seemed very perplexed.

"You haven't used the technique you used against that deplorable teacher in training yet. Why is that?" Vlad asked inquiring about the rapid volley of blows he used with the Chaos Claws. "I had never seen Chaos power be utilized in such a way. Never with such speed." Vlad added.

Gabriel looked at his hand as he clenched and released his fists, "Well it was really just a little experiment. I focused the power into just my hands, while I didn't hit as hard as I normally would it was much faster." Gabriel explained, "I call it my Chaos Storm!" Gabriel announced with a proud smile.

"That is a ridiculous name." Vlad snorted, which Gabriel shrugged off as he thought it sounded cool. "Regardless, I have to admit that I am impressed. Not only have you taken to utilizing the Chaos power but you have made it your own. I have to ask, how did you think of this idea?" Vlad asked.

"Well," Gabriel said while scratching the back of his head, "I saw it in a show." He explained with a hint of embarrassment.

Vlad sighed at the revelation that Gabriel's technique was merely imitating something he had seen on television. But still, he was surprised that Gabriel had learned to manipulate his Chaos power and create a new way to utilize it. Though he wondered how practical such an attack would be in an actual fight.

"I believe that will be all for tonight. You're still a bit injured from your little dip." Vlad said.

Gabriel rolled his right shoulder to some discomfort, "Just a little sore is all." He admitted. He was surprised at how fast he recovered from all of these injuries he's been enduring. Part of him was glad for it but another part seemed to think that this just opened him up to all manner of future physical trauma.

He hated to admit he enjoyed the fights he's been in, the thrill was exhilarating and fired him up. Certainly, he wouldn't go around picking fights but he wasn't going to turn down when it came his way. Maybe after he got out of school he'd take up mixed martial arts, if he could take down monsters certainly he could knock out some muscle heads in shorts.

Moka sat up in bed and yawned as she stretched. The whole week had been exhausting and was glad the weekend was finally here. With no upcoming tests in the next week, she figured she would take the weekend off of studying to recuperate. She walked to her window and looked across to the boy's dormitory. Gabriel was up as well and was stretching before his morning jog. Moka was not nearly as perverted as Kurumu or Yukari was but even should appreciate Gabriel's figure. He wasn't overly muscular but instead had a nice toned body, you could not even tell that he looked like that underneath his school uniform. Partly, she was glad that no one could notice because that meant she wouldn't have to worry about more girls going after him. At that moment she knew what she was going to do that morning. Taking one last look from her window she fished through her wardrobe until she found a pair of sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt. She slipped on her running shoes and looked to see if Gabriel had left his room yet. Suddenly, Moka's train of thought was derailed when from her rosary the voice of her inner self began to speak to her.

"You're going to join him on his run aren't you?" Inner Moka asked which made Outer Moka blush.

"N-No I just some exercise would be good for me." Outer Moka quickly said to cover her tracks.

"Hm, I see, well perhaps you wouldn't mind if I took a run with him then?" Inner Moka proposed.

"No way I'm going with him!" Outer Moka shouted but quickly shut her mouth in embarrassment, she had given herself up with very little prying. Was she getting jealous of herself? "Wait how are you even talking to me right now?" Moka asked.

"I'm not sure. I feel like the wall that separated us had become more of a heavy curtain as of late. This was just my first attempt to talk to you." Inner Moka pondered.

Moka thought about this as she turned to the window and saw that Gabriel was gone. She jumped up and headed out the door. She didn't want to miss him. As she ran outside she clutched her rosary and let her mind wander elsewhere. She did not watch where she was going as Gabriel ran directly into her. The two tripped over each other with Gabriel landing over top of her. He managed to break his fall with his knee and hands, however, he did not notice that his knee was between Moka's legs and their faces were much too close together. The two stared into each other's eyes blushing. Gabriel shot back after he realized what was going on. He stood up and offered his hand to Moka, a blush still on his face. She gladly took his hand and was pulled up onto her feet. Gabriel apologized profusely for not watching where he was going but Moka assured him that she was the one to blame for being so airheaded. The two went silent and dared not look at each other.

Vlad and Inner Moka collectively sighed at this pathetic display they were both forced to witness. Gabriel looked at Moka and noticed her outfit. He thought it was strange that she would be dressed in such a way especially when she normally wore her school uniform or outfits that were similar.

"So uh...going for a run?" Gabriel sheepishly asked.

"Oh uh, yeah I am." Moka responded.

"Well um, would you want to join me?" Gabriel asked.

Moka nodded her head in agreement and began to jog alongside each other. They made sure to keep pace with each other and eventually their jog became more of a walk as they talked to each other about school and some of the teachers. Gabriel ranted on about how their math teacher needed to stop acting like a predator. Anytime he gave a wrong answer it was like she wanted to suck out his soul. It wasn't like his grades were awful so he was confused as to why she seemed to target him. Moka continued to listen to Gabriel's tirade, quite amused herself, as this was one of the few times they have had some alone time. But, that would quickly be shattered when Moka heard the voice of her inner self speak to her again.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" Inner Moka asked her other self.

This caused Moka to stop suddenly which made Gabriel, in turn, do the same as he looked at her confused with why she stopped walking.

"I guess so," Moka said to herself which made Gabriel look at her peculiarly. She took a step toward Gabriel and pointed to her rosary, "Could you take this off?" She asked.

Gabriel hesitated and then plucked the rosary from the chain, Moka transforming into her silver-haired self. Moka stretched and rolled her shoulders, Gabriel still trying to figure out why Moka wanted him to remove her rosary.

"So, you went and made Mr. Kotsubo quit?" Moka accused as she placed her hands on her hips. Gabriel was surprised that she would know this. He hadn't told anyone and he doubted that Mr. Kotsubo ratted him out. "Don't look so surprised. Even the other me figured it out. He was found pummeled and positively terrified. But he wasn't killed." Moka said which made Gabriel turn away. In all honesty, that night was kind of surreal, he knew what he did but it felt like he was compelled to do what he did.

"So it wasn't Mizore, she most likely would have frozen him to death. I wasn't me, it wasn't Yukari, and it wasn't Kurumu. So," She added as she tapped Gabriel's chest with her index finger, "That just leaves you." He couldn't deny it but why would she bring this up now? Why did the other Moka ask to have her rosary removed?

"I must admit I am glad you did what you did," Moka said with some satisfaction. "That slimy bastard made me sick." She spat.

"So what about it? You had me remove the rosary so you could tell me that?" Gabriel asked.

"No, not exactly. I've seen you fight a couple times and you have certainly held your own more than I expected you would. Anyways I wanted to see how you would handle yourself against an opponent that actually posed a threat. Interested?" Moka suggested.

"I believe this is an excellent opportunity to test how far you've come." Vlad said.

"I guess so." Gabriel replied rolling his shoulder.

"Excellent, I was hoping you'd say that," Moka said eagerly. "While we're at it, why don't we make things a bit more interesting?"

"I'm beginning to regret this." Gabriel thought to himself, "Sure, what did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Whoever wins gets a favor from the loser. Anything goes." Moka said deviously.

"Well that means I have to win then, don't I?" Gabriel said as he summoned the Shadow Whip and got into a battle stance.

"If you can." Moka taunted while cracking her knuckles.

They stared each other down waiting for someone to make the first move. Gabriel knew Moka favored kicks and wagered that he wouldn't be able to take a solid kick. Relying on the range of the Shadow Whip was the best bet. Moka seeing that Gabriel was trying to formulate a strategy lunged forward which disrupted his thought as she sent a flying kick his way. He just barely managed to jump out of the way before her foot collided with him dead on. Moka was faster than he thought. Moka shifted her weight where she landed and jumped at Gabriel again, keeping him on the backfoot. His reflexes were sharp, especially for a human. But, he couldn't win just by dodging. As Moka landed, Gabriel spun around and let out a wide sweeping strike of the blood red whip. To his surprise, Moka caught the attack and wrapped it around his arm and then yanked Gabriel towards her. Instead of a look of worry on Gabriel's face, there was a hint of satisfaction. Had she fallen for his trap? The Shadow Whip disappeared and the Chaos Claws blazed to life on Gabriel's arms and he cocked his fist back prepared to deliver a massive strike. Moka just barely managed to get her guard up in time to block the massive blow. She was sent skidding backward and at that moment Gabriel decided it was his turn to go on the offensive. Moka, not one to backpedal, sent a kick towards Gabriel which he managed to block with the Chaos Claws. The impact let out a shockwave that shook the trees around them. Moka was too sure that had not noticed that Gabriel grabbed her foot and pulled her towards him. Gabriel reeled back and struck the ground, creating a massive shockwave that knocked Moka up into the air. He swapped back to the Shadow Whip and lashed out, wrapping the whip around her he slammed her into the ground. Moka got up and dusted herself off, smiling. She wasn't even close to being done with him yet.

"Not bad, you scratched me up a bit." Moka boasted.

Gabriel should have known that a vampire wouldn't go down so easily even in a friendly competition like this. Moka dashed forward ready to continue their fight. Expecting a kick Gabriel got ready to dodge accordingly. It seemed is assumption was correct as Moka went to sweep his legs. He jumped up and prepared to counter-attack but Moka never intended to connect with her legs. She grabbed his leg while he was up in the air and slammed him into the ground. She stood over Gabriel who was struggling to get up.

"Wasn't that a little unnecessary?" Gabriel asked as he started to get up. But he was pushed back down by Moka's foot who stood triumphantly over him.

"I'm sorry did I play a little too rough? I thought you were tougher than that?" Moka taunted.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Gabriel said as he suddenly grabbed Moka's foot with a smug smile on his face.

Moka tried to pry herself free but Gabriel ignited the Chaos Claws and used their enhanced strength to push Moka hard enough to send her into the air once more.

"Remember, you don't have unlimited reserves of Chaos power, end this quickly!" Vlad instructed.

"Whatever you say!" Gabriel shouted as he ran after Moka who was about to land on the ground.

The Chaos Claws began to move down his arm and only cover his hands. Moka had just recovered from being tossed in the air before Gabriel was already engaging again, this time the fiery gauntlets covered only his hands like gloves. She wasn't ready for Gabriel to start pummeling her with a speed she didn't think was possible for him. The sheer amount of attacks prevented her from launching an effective counter. Gabriel reeled his arm back and allowed for the Chaos power to return to normal as he prepared for the finishing blow. He punched forward with all his strength and was sure that this final attack would end it.

However, he was left in shock when his fist connected with Moka's cheek. His bare fist, no fiery power in sight. Moka was hardly moved by this and simply glared at Gabriel as she lifted her leg and placed her foot against his chest. Gabriel smiled nervously and hoped Moka would be a bit merciful. The look on her face quickly dispelled that notion.

"Looks like someone is getting a little too big for his boots." Moka said with death in her eyes, "Seems like I need to show you your place!" She shouted as she pushed hard with her leg sending Gabriel flying.

Gabriel hit the ground knocking the wind out of him. He tried to get back up but collapsed onto his back. That was definitely gonna leave a bruise, it definitely was a bit of a shot to his ego.

He forgot how scary Moka could be when she was pissed off and certainly Gabriel's cocky attitude didn't help.

Moka stood over the beaten Gabriel with her arms crossed. Even if he could get up again he doubted it would be the best idea. He figured that Moka wouldn't allow for him to pull that stunt again. Any attempt to fight back would be quickly shut down.

"Looks like I win," Moka said and she stepped over Gabriel. "I'll be claiming my prize now." She said which made Gabriel's mind race.

When Moka drank his blood it wasn't so bad since her fangs weren't very long but this Moka, they looked like daggers in comparison. Moka sat on Gabriel and grabbed his head and moved her's closer.

"Don't suppose I can give you an IOU?" Gabriel asked in vain.

Moka simply looked him in the eyes as she moved closer. Gabriel closed his eyes to prepare himself for the stabbing pain in his neck but wasn't met with that. Instead, he felt something soft press against his lips. Shocked he opened his eyes to see that Moka hadn't bitten him but instead began to kiss him. He could see her cheeks flush a bit, which was a surprise in and of itself. The kiss seemed to last an eternity but eventually, she pulled away and tried to hide her embarrassment with her usual stern expression.

"Um...are you trying to tell me something." Gabriel asked still trying to process what had just happened.

"You put up a good fight and I respect that. Besides I don't think that snow woman deserved to forcibly kiss you." Moka said while looking away from Gabriel.

"Well, aren't you technically doing the same thing?" Gabriel pointed out which seemed to sadden Moka a bit.

"What am I not good enough for you?" She asked with a hint of anger and sadness in her voice.

"What no no no, that's not what I meant I just didn't expect you to well, do that." Gabriel quickly said trying to prevent making the vampire angry.

"So what if we tried again?" Moka asked turning back to Gabriel, whose face began to grow red.

"Um...uh I mean I guess so but why?" Gabriel stammered.

"Surely you've noticed how the others look at you, especially the succubus." Moka said.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Gabriel responded, unsure of where this was leading.

"After seeing you so selflessly, and stupidly, risk yourself for the sake of others. How hard you fight despite only being human while still showing mercy to those who may not deserve it." Moka said while drawing closer to Gabriel again, "I've decided that I am not going to lose you to any of those girls." She added as she began to kiss Gabriel again.

Gabriel could not deny he had feelings for Moka but he wasn't sure who they were for. This Moka or the Moka he met on his first day, was it both? Despite this he did not break this kiss, it was intoxicating. This was not his first kiss but any girlfriend he had when he was younger did not make him feel this way. This wasn't a simply smooch on a swing set this felt different. His heart was racing and he did not want it to stop. Maybe he already had his answer but he couldn't know for sure. Both Moka's were beautiful and strong in their own ways but each possessed something that other did not. Where the white-haired Moka was strong and confident, the pink-haired Moka was gentle and compassionate. The peculiar nature of Moka made things difficult for the teen and sorting it out would be harder than just picking one. Who was the real Moka, was the Moka he had known a buried part of the Inner Moka's personality brought to the forefront?

Moka broke the kiss and looked at Gabriel confused, he seemed to enjoy it but at the same time, he seemed conflicted? Had she rushed her confession? Maybe he thought that her other self would be upset by this.

"You do know that this is how I was before, this how I have always been." Moka explained which seemed to snap Gabriel out of his train of thought. "The me you have known is only a product of the rosary's seal." She continued.

"It's still strange to me, I mean I usually only see you when we're in trouble." Gabriel explained.

"But you wouldn't be opposed to the idea?" Moka asked.

"No...I guess not." Gabriel admitted.

"Then why bother with all of the details. I doubt the other me would be opposed, I know she shares my feelings." Moka confessed.

"I kinda figured that." Gabriel replied, "Honestly, I kinda figured it for some time."

"Yet you said nothing to either of us?" Moka questioned with a tone of frustration.

"Well, I was still trying to work it out in my head. Besides you are a little harder to read than most girls." Gabriel admitted. "Besides I wasn't sure it would be the best idea."

"What do you mean?" Moka asked cocking her head to the side.

"All I seem to do is attract trouble and every day I have this feeling in my stomach that tells me that it's only going to get worse. I don't want anyone I care about to get hurt." Gabriel said with downcast eyes.

He was not expecting to be met with a hard slap across his cheek. He looked at Moka confused as to why she would hit him for seemingly no reason.

"Do you think I'm some helpless damsel? If I took our fight seriously I could have killed you." Moka threatened as she grabbed Gabriel's shirt and pulled him. "And I know you could have done the same." She insinuated. She knew that Gabriel had been holding back out of fear for her safety. "Any enemy that comes our way will be shut down by our power."

"But what about the others? What will they say?" Gabriel asked concerned about his friend's reactions.

"String them along and you will only hurt them more when a decision has to be made. Do you understand?" Moka said.

"I guess so. What do I tell the other you?" Gabriel asked as he rubbed his cheek.

"The truth, she doesn't know that we're having this talk. She was under the impression that I asked her to have me be let out for our little dance." Moka said as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"Why do I feel like this will piss off a lot of people?" Gabriel asked rhetorically.

"Well then they can be mad, I was growing tired of watch her stare out at you from her window." Moka said crossing her arms.

"So that explains why I always felt like I was being watched when I was changing." Gabriel said with his face turning red which made Moka laugh.

"Oh don't worry she's only seen you shirtless." Moka reassured him.

"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better." Gabriel said rolling his eyes.

"Well look at it this way, it won't feel so strange now." Moka pointed out.

"You say that but you haven't-" Gabriel started to say before cutting himself off when he remembered Ginei's tendency to peep, "Nevermind." He said dryly.

"Does that mean you're going to pay that mutt a visit like our ex-gym teacher?" Moka asked.

"Trust me I'm looking for a reason but if I was beating up people for being a creep then I would have been expelled for pummeling like over half of the guys here." Gabriel jokingly said. Moka and Gabriel shared a chuckle in agreement. Moka got off Gabriel and stood up, pulling him up along with her. She dusted him off and Gabriel cracked his neck.

"I guess I should apologize for hitting you so hard. I had to make sure you knew that I would not be subservient just because we were together." Moka said as she finished dusting him off.

"Well, I guess that's it, it's official I guess." Gabriel said scratching the back of his head, "Not the way I envisioned a confession going down."

"The other me is much too shy to do it. So I elected to take charge and besides I have been wanting to see how well you'd fare against my power." Moka admitted.

Gabriel produced Moka's rosary and palmed it in his hand, looking over it. Things were already crazy enough with all of the girls obviously having feelings for him. If anything he was more concerned with how Mizore would take this. He hadn't heard from her after the two of them talked in his room. The biggest concern was that she would default back to how she was before. The odds that she would listen to him now seemed less likely should the two of them be put into a situation like that again.

"They'll have to get over it, if they just want to hang around you to get with you then they weren't really your friends." Moka said harshly as she grabbed the rosary.

"Would you be so willing to give me up?" Gabriel asked.

"Hmm, probably not. I'm a sore loser, so I don't lose." Moka admitted kissing her new boyfriend on the cheek. She winked at Gabriel and placed the rosary back in its place, transforming back into her pink-haired self. As usual, she fell into Gabriel's arms, who was grateful for this moment to gather his thoughts.

 **"You know, in my time, having two significant others would have been considered taboo"** Vlad teased.

"Technically, I still only have one." Gabriel scoffed.

 **"Well try explaining that to her, she's waking up"** Vlad said as Moka began to slowly open her eyes.

Moka could see the look on Gabriel's face and could tell that something was bothering him. What had her inner self done? Was he okay? But her questions were given answers as Gabriel looked down at her and smiled warmly.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" He asked.


End file.
